CONFESSION...

I have a confession of sorts to make  and  "No" I have not converted to Catholicism. I've got nothing against the religion, in fact some of by best friends are Catholic. Back to the confession - oops - one more disclaimer; while I've never sought out to present as righteous, if you have enjoyed this type of belief about me you may not want to proceed with this post.

Okay enough of the suspense - I'm not a felon but I did get THIS in the mail today

I know it is a rhetorical question but the answer is "No". I was expecting this as I have written some pretty hefty checks to the DMV over the past couple of months. I drive like I cycle MASHING the PEDAL, and guess what? They do give points for consistency.  

I had gotten a bit uneasy with my last violation and pulled my driving record. Well, it showed a clear record for quite a long period up until just over 2 years ago. My driving habits hadn't changed. So what was it? I'd been stopped before (many times if we're confessing completely) but rarely did I get a formal citation. So what changed? Had I lost my charm? Then it hit me...

My 'Charm' had been in the back seat and I had lost her.  

This realization did stop me in my tracks initially.

 Tyra was the best traveling partner.

We sang. We laughed. We drove fast. Sometimes we  she

           SLEPT

and... We got pulled over. Tyra would wake up for traffic stops and once the officers noticed her in the back seat we'd exchanged nicety's but no written citations. Here is where the REAL confession is. As the officer of the day would approach my open window I often turned to Tyra in the backseat and said something like "It's okay pumpkin. Mommy's not gonna get in trouble. We'll be fine." This would definitely draw the officers attention to my CHARMER and that million dollar, citation forgiving grin of hers. If the Officer looked too intense I'd pull out the big guns and start fiddling with Tyra's feeding pump. A little lecture on "pulling over to take care of her needs - since I clearly had my hands full" would be given but again no formal penalty.

Once my window was up with the officer returning to his patrol car I'd let out a sigh with a "that was close" and Tyra would laugh with delight. She knew just what had happened. My CHARMER. As we'd pull off I'd sometimes ask her rhetorically "You don't think Mommy's going to Hell for that, do you?" This prompted even louder LAUGHTER.

Now I've confessed. I don't think I'm going to Hell but I may well be going to Driver Improvement Class (a close 2nd).