Driving Miss Jessie

Years ago, I learned that if I wanted to have a conversation with my Dad, I could have his undivided attention when we were in the car. There’s something about long drives that seem to center Jess too.  She likes this time to share her thoughts. I’m not sure if it is the privacy of the car or the actual driving itself.

Yesterday we had a mid-day meeting which meant I needed to pick her up from the OTC. I arrived early so I we could go out to lunch.  When we got in the car, I asked her where she wanted to go. No surprise, she said “Burger King”. Then she said “…yes, minor, correcting, exception, Wendy’s, correction…”. As we all know, it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind and Jess was pleased that she had say in our plans for the day and I was happy that she could tell me.

When we arrived at the restaurant and were getting out of the car, someone cut us off and sped passed us. Jess said “dumb-ass”. Yes, she has a curse word programmed into SFY. This was the first time I heard her say this.  I’m not really enthused with her cursing, but it was cool to see her use the phrase appropriately.  We feel it’s important that Jess have access to all language just like any typical girl her age.  As for stronger language, she iwill to have to spell it out. Jess is always surprising me with what she has to say.

We ordered our lunch. The cashier asked what flavor Frosty, she said “vanilla”.

These things may not seem noteworthy, but for us, they are milestones. She had always been the caboose in school. Every friend she made was moved up and she was left behind. There was no way to predict what her future would hold. At the time, her future looked pretty bleak.

This is the thought that has been rolling around in my brain today. When there is a tragic accident and only one person walks away alive (I know, kind of morbid), why were they spared? Then I thought of Jess. Based on her early years, why is she now showing signs of growth?

It’s important to realize that as a parent that anything is possible. We could have thrown in the towel and let Jess take the path that everyone said she was going down, but I always wondered “what if they were wrong?”.

One of my favorite children’s stories was The Little Engine that Could. There was no way of knowing at the time that this fable would foretell Jessie’s path. She is that little engine. She is showing that she can.