The Mommy Driver

I learned to drive when I was 18; but I only drove a car by myself when I was already in law school. When I started driving by myself, I was a really careful driver. When I gained more confidence,  I started driving like a (delusional) Formula One driver wannabe. I even had some sort of personal speed record: 18-ish minutes from UP to our house in Cainta late in the evening (not bad, though my dad once took just 15 minutes to drive me to school; yeeesh).

Eventually though, when my enthusiasm for driving waned a bit, I started driving more patiently. I no longer changed lanes as much in order to overtake slow vehicles; I no longer treated the highways as if it were a maze, with the objective of trying to find the quickest route. In fact , I now reached a point where I am mostly on autopilot. Did you ever get the feeling, after alighting from your car, that you don’t remember how you got to your destination in the first place? Bingo.

Now, I still enjoy driving. But after experiencing driving while pregnant, and then driving with an infant in the backseat, I realized that I now drove like a grandma: slow and steady. No worries though; I actually enjoy the leisurely pace. At least I feel secure knowing that my baby is comfy in the backseat and that I am not taking unnecessary risks while he is traveling with me. In any event, I think that most people’s driving styles really evolve, and that most fast drivers will eventually settle down into more reaonable speeds.

Besides, with my current driving style, not only do I save on gas, I can now eat a cheeseburger and fries while driving a manual car. How’s that for multi-tasking? 🙂

Daddy’s Day

Sige na, let’s celebrate Father’s Day. After all, moms don’t have a monopoly on the job of raising kids (though I get the impression that I have the monopoly on poopy diapers :P). Dads share in the pains and hardships of a mom’s pregnancy, too. My husband was very patient with me all throughout my pregnancy, even when I became hormonal, unreasonable, irritable, demanding and cried at the drop of a hat. He looked after my and our unborn baby’s welfare to the extent that he can, given his very demanding job. He helped in (almost) all aspects of taking care of our newborn especially during his paternity leave, and did not sleep like me, hehehe. He also supported my decision to quit my better-paying law office job for a lesser-paying but more mommy-suited one in government, when I couldn’t take the long hours anymore. And once in a while, even if he had to get up early the next day, he’d get our baby to go back to sleep when our little one wakes in the middle of the night.

My own dad used to say that Father’s Day (and Mother’s Day, too, for that matter) is just an “invention” of malls so they can get people to buy gifts and eat out. 🙂 That may be true to some extent, but for me, it wouldn’t hurt to show appreciation once in a while for our parents who have done so much for us and who expect nothing in return, save for us to grow up well.

Happy Father’s Day, Dads!!!