NO PATIENCE

It was a rushed Friday. Definitely not the time for a driving lesson. However, I gave in and before long discovered that I should learn to trust my first instincts more.

We had errands to run. Things that should have been done sooner than now. But with losing my job on Wednesday and trying to find another one these past two days, my focus was elsewhere.

'Don't hesitate', I reminded my son as he approached the light as it was turning yellow. This was the second time such a thing happened. But this time he added accelerating to the mix. As he was turning left.

'Stop!', I shouted. I actually meant slow down, but my son knew what I meant. He was going far too fast as he turned. He was visibly shaken.

He stayed in the left lane as I instructed him to find the next available place to turn into so we could switch seats. The driving lesson, at least for now, was over.

As he continued to drive, slowly, people kept passing us by. Most people understood. They had to have seen the two of the three magnetic signs on the minivan letting everyone know that there was a student driver and to 'please be patient'. One lady must have completely ignored the signs as she sped past us and flipped off my son. She had no patience. My son was calm, though he didn't understand why the lady couldn't see that he was a new driver. I, on the other hand, reached over and honked the horn.

At the next available street, my son turned into the parking lot of a shopping center and we switched seats as we continued on our way to our errands.

The first stop was my former work to return the access card and key. I hadn't used them in years and found two keys on a keyring in my purse. As luck would have it, both the CFO and the CEO were standing outside in the parking lot. My son and I got out and I handed the access card to the CFO. I explained that I wasn't sure which of the two keys on the keyring were theirs, so he went upstairs to verify. In the meantime, the CEO completely avoided us and averted his gaze from us. Quite out of the ordinary from before, but we brushed it off to his embarrassment of having just fired me.

We continued on our way to the next errands and then back home to get ready for our week-long adventure in nature.