driving lessons

--after logging 42 hours of highway travel over the last ten days (20 of which happened in the last two days), providing me with plenty of opportunities for observation and time to ponder, i've come to the following conclusions:
· most people don’t understand the concept of cruise-control.
· learning to drive in japan should be a prerequisite for obtaining a driver’s license in america.
--now, barring any emergency maneuvers or the obvious start and stop of traffic lights and/or bumper to bumper traffic, i am capable of driving an entire trip without touching the pedals. i could go so far as to say i could do it sitting with my legs crossed underneath me…hypothetically, of course…not that i do that…much. just kidding! gotta watch out for the aforementioned situations. anyway, i can successfully drive while changing lanes and speeds, even handling merging, mis-timing of lane changes, and the ever present (many times strange) driving choices of the other people out there at the touch of a few buttons…maintaining a constant speed, or margin of speed relative to the speed limit. that (and using the passing lane for its intended purpose,) reduces the adjustments others have to make to me, which in turn, one would assume, would make driving with me on the road an easier day. why have i found that that concept seems so hard for other drivers to understand??

--they should move to japan for a few years to learn the “art” of driving. while the japanese do drive on the wrong side, they drive the right way. when people are in abundance and space is at a minimum, one must do things more efficiently. they (can) drive full-sized cars on sometimes (it seems) half-width lanes lined with cars…and make it look easy. and really it is easy, once you understand what’s going on. the idea is that everybody has somewhere to go, so let’s all get there. they use a few concepts somewhat foreign to the states, that i call “situational awareness” and “courtesy.” novel ideas, really. if you’re aware of what’s going on around you, as in where you are, who else is there, and where you’re all going, something called “anticipation” sets in. you understand that if there is space in front of you, it will be used by that car sitting on the side wanting to pull into traffic. so, anticipating his move, your adjustment only has to be slight in order for him to be able to join the traffic flow, and you were courteous in the process. nobody gets greedy and speeds up, which would lead to either him not being able to pull out, or you slamming on the brakes when he does it anyway, (or crashing). and nobody gets mad either, because we’re all still moving along! wow…. it’s a proactive kind of thing…and it works…crazy, huh? what i've seen of many americans (not all of course) is that they are selfish, aggressive, reactive, oblivious, and/or mean. drivers, that is… ;) oh, and if when driving on the highway in japan, you come up behind someone driving slower than you are, they move over…even if there is no lane. assuming no mountain drop-off, they’ll cross over the right side line so you can go around them. what a concept…

--on a completely different note…below is something else you would never see in japan! makes me laugh.

operation take turns

--i'm convinced my children have begun a coordinated effort in alternating between making mama proud and making mama mad...
--friday i went to aidan's kindergarten parent-teacher conference for his progress report. mrs. watkins showed me all of his assessments. they use a numbering system where 1 means "below expected", 3 is the expected level, and 4 is "above expected." aidan had grades above expected in all areas. he reads short sentences, writes/spells understandable words/sentences, draws intricate pictures, understands and applies new information and situations, and gives detailed explanations and descriptions. she said he's very sweet and plays well, but occasionally has trouble focusing. she also said that he has his own sense of humor, and will sometimes laugh at something when nobody else is laughing, then dissolve into giggles. i was not surprised by any of this...but enjoyed hearing it from an outside observer. and he grinned from ear to ear and puffed up like a peacock when i told him all the good stuff his teacher said. :)
--that same night, sierra chose to spend the evening in timeout. she drew on the wall, put the cat in a sink of running water, poured a bag of catfood into the litter box, locked herself in my room and ground chapstick into the carpet.
--all this is compared to sunday when aidan argued with absolutely everything i said, whined and flopped on the floor, hit his sister, and told me he wasn't my friend anymore. (my favorite response to that phrase is "there’s no rule that says i have to be your friend in order to be your mother.") and all on the day sierra was my "big girl helper" because i didn't feel well, sat for two hours with a kitty asleep on her lap, and told me with hands on my cheeks, "mommy, you're precious!"
--it's a conspiracy, i tell you!