Yesterday, Hannah headed up to Penn State for the weekend. She left directly from work, which means she didn't get on the road until shortly after 5PM. The trip from Ashton to State College should take a little less than three-and-one-half hours. But, because it was Friday night, I knew she'd probably get stuck on I-70 West. So, I wasn't exactly sure how long it would take her.
Promptly at 8:30PM, I started wondering if she'd arrived safely. Of course, I didn't actually say that I was wondering if she was there. I left that to Kim. "She told me she'd text me when she gets there," Kim said. Good, I thought to myself.
At 8:45PM, there was still no word from Hannah. "I'm going to text her," said Kim. "Don't do that," I said. "If she's driving, she shouldn't be texting. Plus, if she's running late, she's already going to be distracted." So, Kim left it alone.
Soon enough, 9PM came and went. Now, I was starting to get worried. A four hour trip to State College is pretty unusual. I wondered what could have happened. But, I kept that to myself. Finally, at 9:10PM, Kim's phone buzzed. It was Hannah. She'd arrived safely. I breathed a sigh of relief and finally allowed myself to settle in and enjoy the last hour of "The Lost Boys."
As I sat there watching Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric play dueling vampires, I found myself trying to answer three questions. The first was why Edward Herrmann, who plays the head vampire, was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. The second was why the two Corey's were such a big deal back in the late 1980's. (I kind of get the Corey Haim thing. But, I completely don't get Corey Feldman.) The third was exactly when I'd started to turn into my parents. You see, whenever we leave Elmira to drive back home, my mother always says "Call us when you get there." Sometimes, I just ignore her. Other times, I'll say "OK." But, when we get home, I never call.
Now, the tables have turned. I'm the parent sitting at home, wondering if my kid (who, no matter how old she is, will always be my kid) has arrived at her destination safely. I'm glad she let us know. In fact, I may have to re-think my stance on doing the same for my own parents.
This is where the magic happens.
