Her name was Carol and all I can say is everything you'd expect someone from the dreaded DMV to be, she was the total opposite.
     I should start by telling you, our oldest son, Christian just turned 16.  This is huge.  I know it's cliché to say we were holding him in our arms a minute ago, but it's true.  To go from handing your baby a toy car to throwing him a set of actual keys went entirely too fast.  On the other hand...Thank You Lord Jesus.  To have the ability to throw out a, "Drive home from school or practice whenever you're done" or "bring your brothers and sister home with you".  I don't even know what that's going to be like, but I can't wait.
     We had to get there first though.  In North Carolina kids start this process at the age of 14 and a half.  FOURTEEN AND A HALF.  That seemed crazy to me.  They begin classes and work with an instructor until they get their permit at the age of 15.  For the next year, they must log 60 hours of driving with 10 of these hours being at night.  
     That was all well and good until this Saturday.  Adam and I  woke up at o'dark thirty  in the morning and along with Christian, we crawled our way to the DMV.  The office didn't open until 8:00, but when I tell you there was already a line wrapped around the building, I almost fell over.
    As we grumbled our way around the corner of the building, we actually ran into one of our friends who had been sitting beside her son in fold out chairs since 6:30.  They were only half way down the incredulous line.   Even worse, when the doors finally opened, it wasn't until later when she sent a text saying her son couldn't take the test due to some paperwork.
      Wait, WHAT?
     Not only was I already nervous sick about our first born taking his test, now I questioned whether we had everything.  
        Aaaaaand we didn't. 
      After standing in line for three and a half years in the Carolina summer heat, we didn't have what we needed.   

     They told us to come back on Monday with the required documents and we left dejected and licenseless.
       When we returned though, we were absolutely prepared and ready to go.
      Monday afternoon brought less of a line, the woman at the front desk was the sweetest and most kind person on earth and then we met, Carol.
        I remember the person I had when taking my test a hundred years ago and the only thing scarier than the overly used clipboard he gripped, was the scowl on his burly face.   No smile, no calming presence...just a mean old man who seemed as though he hated life itself solely because of the 16 year old punk kids who lived in it.   
       Take that, turn it upside down and you'd have, Carol.  She was funny, patient and believe it or not, really, really nice.  Christian was completely at ease with her which made my head spin considering he seemed to totally disregard the fact that he was about to take one of the biggest tests of his 16 years.  
        They climbed in the car and away they went.  
      In what seemed to be a minute and a lifetime, the car returned.  My heart pounded, my breathing raced as we waited for a sign, any sign when they got out of the car.  Thumbs up, down?  Carol emerged first, but I couldn't read her expression.  It wasn't until Christian climbed out of the car that I returned my hurried glance to her and she smiled.  Christian did the same along with a head nod and a thumbs up and I screamed.  I literally screamed and jumped up and down, so much so that someone popped their head out of the DMV to see what was going on.   

       Carol laughed, Christian cringed and we hugged and danced for a minute more before I think someone may have wanted to call the cops.   
          In life there are good days and bad and this one was definitely at the top of the list.   It's nice to know people like Carol are out there, making these experiences so much better for everyone.
       As for Christian, we celebrated with dinner and a cookie cake that he drove to pick up by himself with a smile that must have been at least a mile wide.        

        Summer has come to a sleepy end and with it, the excitement of back to school has arrived.  The anticipation of new teachers, classes and old friends has the kids eager to begin. 
            As I've heard so many times before, boys are "easier" than girls when it comes to many things and although I'm not entirely sure about that, I will say when it comes to back to school, it's pretty true in our house.
        Our daughter is busy contemplating everything from what to wear, what pencils to use and what friends she hopes to sit by, while our sons are typically only concerned about how early they'll have to start waking up come Monday morning.  
       Lauren Elizabeth has even been planning all the way down to her locker for the past month.  I'll have to admit, last year was the first year we were able to have a girl's locker so I jumped at the chance to cover her locker this side of a confetti shooter, especially after having three boy humdrum lockers with no more than a magnetic dry erase board at best.  Needless to say, my heart warmed at the idea of fuzzy pink unicorns.  
     This year though, I'm tired.  I've been working nonstop and don't have the energy to fight the masses for back to school shopping for anything other than the essentials.  Disco ball locker ornaments are adorable, don't get me wrong...but maybe next year we'll be more ahead of the game.
     But then, it happened.  I was running through Target for five seconds of groceries (an oxymoron, I know) when I noticed huge carts of loaded items being shuffled around by parents and their kids getting ready for college.  The teens all wore their college sweatshirts, University of North Carolina, Duke, NC State, while the parents wore everything from fear, crushing heartbreak  to even a handful of Mom and Dads with exuberant ear to ear smiles and I swear a hop and a skip or two.  
     I stopped cold.  
    They're going to college.  They're going to COLLEGE!  We already have two boys in high school this year and in a split second, all of this will be gone.  No more lockers, first day of school outfits, mechanical pencils...they'll be on their own without a locker to spare.
    I 360'd my cart to the school supply section and found a pink mirror, pink pencil holder and decorations to boot, then threw them all in the cart.  Was it an emotional buy?  Absolutely, but I know it'll be even more emotional when our ten year old little girl becomes a teen and dances her way looking through the comforter aisle with matching sheets and towels.
      Open house was the other night and we busily cut and decorated.  It was a labor of love with anticipation of the new year ahead, knowing she would have a little piece of fun everyday opening and closing her locker door.
        We have yet to install a confetti shooter o' glitter, but there's always next year.
     For now, I'll cherish every minute...as exhausting as they may be.  My throat tightens when I think about a shopping cart of dorm decore rather than locker mirrors, but we'll get to that when it comes, I suppose.  
    For today, a sparkly pink locker it is, along with three dry erase board lockers as well...and a world of excitement to begin.  Off we go...