Scared straight

Here is some more Mom of the Year material for you.

Mind you, I do know how STUPID and DANGEROUS this is, so no lectures, please!

I was taking Emma to school, running late as usual. The car my brother let me borrow has a dead battery (don't understand, ran perfectly the night before!). Luckily, Eddie didn't take the Kia, so I ran back inside to get that key, muttering about the dead battery in the Honda. I ran back outside and hopped into the blazing hot Kia. I race out of the driveway and and down the street. As I round a corner going towards the school, a Riverside Sheriff patrol car passes me going the other direction. I glance to see if he is paying attention to me....Lo, and behold, he whips that black & white around.

"No! No! No! No!," I bemoan. I don't have my seatbelt on, Emma is in the front seat with me, WITHOUT her seat belt, much less a booster seat. I don't have my purse or ID or nothing. I'm not even wearing a bra.

I look at the deputy in the rearview mirror and he appears to be running my plate (thank God my plate is confidential). I glance at Emma and then I look back up and he is not in the car anymore. "Where'd he go?" I look back at Emma to see if he is coming up the passenger side, but he is not there. I turn back around to my window and he appears.

"Do you know why I stopped you?" he asks. I hate that question. Why ask a stupid question? Duh! Thankfully, I am NOT a smartass when it comes to authority (face to face--behind closed doors is another issue). I say nothing and jerk my thumb at Emma in the passenger seat.

Emma is cowering in her seat with her fingers jammed in her ears. The deputy tells Emma to uncover her ears and listen. He tells her that she needs to wear her seatbelt. Emma immediately starts bawling. "I forgot!" she wails.

The deputy tells her not to cry and that she needs to wear her seatbelt for her safety. Then, He. Lets. Us. Go. I said, "Thank you, Sir" to his retreating back. He didn't lecture me, didn't lecture Emma...I guess making Emma cry was satisfactory to him.

I pulled away from the curb slowly. We get to Emma's school barely in time. I told her to have a good day and to hurry so she won't be late. She turned back around and clung to my neck and cried some more. I told her it was okay and she needed to get to class. She ran off with tears streaming down her face.

Okay, since the deputy didn't lecture me, I don't want none of you to do it!