Traffic School

Thanks so much for all your suggestions about what to do with Allie! You are all full of great ideas and I really appreciate all the input! UPDATE-Allie is doing much better at night. I think part of it was bribery (she will do a lot for a dum-dum), and part of it was her deciding she was going to go to bed without screaming. She still complains about being scared A LOT and it is always a struggle to actually get her in her room with the door shut, but she seems to be managing. A few things that have helped: prayer (although we were trying this from the beginning, I think constant prayers specifically for her have been a good thing), talking with her about how I have overcome some of my own fears, playing "swat the pretend robbers" with fly swatters (read that one online), and encouraging her that it is okay to feel scared, but not okay to scream and cry about it. We plan on having a special FHE where we dedicate the house after we close next week, and I think that will help, too. For now, though, I am relieved that things are going better. They are far from perfect, but they are better.

Back in May I got my first speeding ticket ever. And I was pretty bummed. I was leaving the house in Orem to go back to Mapleton to pick Damon up from school when I got busted for doing 41 in a 25. Dang. I was in a hurry, and I was driving too fast (in my FIL's truck, so I wasn't used to the speed), but I also think the cop who gave me my ticket is a jerk who was laying a speed trap (more on that in a minute). Anywho, instead of paying the fine and having it go on my record, thus upping our insurance, I decided to go to traffic school.

And so I got to spend a glorious 3 hours last night in a room with 24 other offenders, learning about being a safe driver. And also how to get away with speeding. I don't know exactly what I expected, but there were all types of people there. Male, female, old, young, firefighters and texters. But the majority of us were white, which surprised me. Maybe I was picturing something more along the lines of a citizenship class, where most of the participants would be minorities who once worked as a doctor in their home land, but were now forced to be janitors at the local elementary school. Honestly, though, I should have known. It is Orem, Utah, and the only diversity my kids are exposed to is through the Wal-Mart on University Parkway, where all Hispanic people in the city shop. We often take "field trips" there so they remember that there actually are people who speak Spanish besides Dora.

Back to Traffic School. Despite my misconceptions, I fit right in. I felt an instant comraderie with the other participants; my fellow lawbreakers who had been caught, and were also hoping to avoid higher insurance premiums. Our teacher was a young officer, just 3 years out of the academy, who encouraged us to open a discussion to make the class more interesting. As long as we avoided subjects like, "I didn't deserve my ticket because..." So, of course, most of our discussions were why we didn't deserve our tickets. I learned that THREE other people in the class had received their tickets at the same place I got mine, all issued by the same officer. Yes, my friends, Officer V- was most definitely laying a speed trap. Here's how I know: All of us were pulled over at the bottom of a hill, going at least 10 over the speed limit. I have since learned that if you roll down the hill, never applying your break, you will reach the bottom going at least 45 MPH. It takes a LOT of conscious effort, and a lot of breaking, to keep your speed closer to 25 MPH. Also, Officer V was hiding behind a trailer at the bottom of the hill, so of course he couldn't be seen. He had the perfect setup, and I bet he was giving several tickets a day from his little hiding place. Annoying.

But, I will admit, that since my ticket, I have been a different driver. And after completing Traffic School last night, I know I will be a much more conscientious driver. And not just about speeding. I'm not going to text anymore in the car (not that I did a lot while driving, but occasionally I would. All it took was one story of a girl who lost her life, as she ran a red light while texting and was hit directly on her left side to cure me of my desire to text and drive). I learned a lot, and I think everyone should go to traffic school every few years, just to be reminded of things we can do better. I think insurance companies should offer a reduced rate to anyone who will go and sit through a class. I think there would be fewer accidents, and more educated drivers on the road.

So, while it sucks that I got a ticket and had to go to Traffic School, it wasn't all bad. I got to sit for three hours talking about speed limits, and watching video clips of horrendous accidents. I got to learn, again, how important seat belts areand I got to sit hungrily as other participants scarfed down their Panda Express dinners they had bought during the break. Wait, why was it a good thing again? Oh, because I got to do it without children, and never once had to answer the question, "can I have something to eat?" It was a question I had to keep myself from asking, but one I never had to answer.