Thursday, February 09, 2006
And how do you plea....
Yes, those were the words directed toward me today as I sat in traffic court for 4 hours. WHAT? Did you say "FOUR HOURS"?? Why, yes I did. How did I manage, you ask? Well, let's go back to the beginning...
Rob and I had our anniversary in December. Actually, it is always in December. And in 2005, we celebrated 12 years of marriage. Now, we have a fun tradition where we take turns each year planning our anniversary trip (if there is money) or outing (for those tighter times). Last year was my year to plan. Let me explain that "planning" involves more than just picking a romantic place to spend the night. It also involves setting up childcare for our four children and explaining to them again why they aren't allowed to go on this trip (!!!). So I did all that. I arranged for my sister (Godly, single, gainfully employed, beautiful- contact me privately!!) to keep them the first night and then my parents (wonderful, stereotypical "love my grandkids" type) for the second night. Fast forward through all the fantastic, gorgeous, heart-thrilling, romantic details...
I met my mom halfway to pick up the kiddos and was on my way home when Kirk woke from his van nap disoriented and crying. So I did what every safe-driving attentive mother does: I turned around to see what was the matter. No, it did NOT occur to me to just look into my rearview mirror....And, as you can well imagine, as I turned around to look at Kirk, my right foot just seemed to grow heavier and heavier, if you know what I mean. Next thing I knew, the blue lights were a-flashin'. I pulled over quasi-quickly and put on my best "children-mommy-was-very-wrong-and-this-officer-is-just-doing-his-job" face and proceeded to follow said officer's instructions. The short of it? 78 in a 55 (gulp). In medium-to-heavy traffic (double gulp). In a construction area (triple gulp).
When I came home and told Rob (no, I did not think of hiding it!!), he advised me to go to court, admit my wrong doing, and ask the judge for mercy in reducing the points on my license. "You'll be in and out of there in less than an hour, babe," says he. Needless to say, those words were ringing in my ears the entire 4 hours of my stay in that 50 degree room with no reading material. "In and out in an hour," "In and out in an hour," I mimicked to myself. Sorry, hon- love ya!! And I really do- love him, that is- because he rearranged his schedule this morning to accomodate me and stay home with the kids.
So what happened? Because I have no prior record (imagine me patting self on the back) the judge- sweet, sweet man- lowered my offense to 69 mph and reduced my fine by nearly half!! And no points on my license!! Then he proceeded to look over the rims of his fashionable eyeglasses and remind me of the importance of driving safely at all times, especially when I have my children in the vehicle with me. Then he blessed me, asked me the names and ages of my children and told me to go home to my little ones and be a good mom. WOW!! Was that unexpected?!
In lieu of our Word of the Day, I will just share this apropos verse from Romans.
Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. Romans 13:2-4a
Drive safely gals!!
Rob and I had our anniversary in December. Actually, it is always in December. And in 2005, we celebrated 12 years of marriage. Now, we have a fun tradition where we take turns each year planning our anniversary trip (if there is money) or outing (for those tighter times). Last year was my year to plan. Let me explain that "planning" involves more than just picking a romantic place to spend the night. It also involves setting up childcare for our four children and explaining to them again why they aren't allowed to go on this trip (!!!). So I did all that. I arranged for my sister (Godly, single, gainfully employed, beautiful- contact me privately!!) to keep them the first night and then my parents (wonderful, stereotypical "love my grandkids" type) for the second night. Fast forward through all the fantastic, gorgeous, heart-thrilling, romantic details...
I met my mom halfway to pick up the kiddos and was on my way home when Kirk woke from his van nap disoriented and crying. So I did what every safe-driving attentive mother does: I turned around to see what was the matter. No, it did NOT occur to me to just look into my rearview mirror....And, as you can well imagine, as I turned around to look at Kirk, my right foot just seemed to grow heavier and heavier, if you know what I mean. Next thing I knew, the blue lights were a-flashin'. I pulled over quasi-quickly and put on my best "children-mommy-was-very-wrong-and-this-officer-is-just-doing-his-job" face and proceeded to follow said officer's instructions. The short of it? 78 in a 55 (gulp). In medium-to-heavy traffic (double gulp). In a construction area (triple gulp).
When I came home and told Rob (no, I did not think of hiding it!!), he advised me to go to court, admit my wrong doing, and ask the judge for mercy in reducing the points on my license. "You'll be in and out of there in less than an hour, babe," says he. Needless to say, those words were ringing in my ears the entire 4 hours of my stay in that 50 degree room with no reading material. "In and out in an hour," "In and out in an hour," I mimicked to myself. Sorry, hon- love ya!! And I really do- love him, that is- because he rearranged his schedule this morning to accomodate me and stay home with the kids.
So what happened? Because I have no prior record (imagine me patting self on the back) the judge- sweet, sweet man- lowered my offense to 69 mph and reduced my fine by nearly half!! And no points on my license!! Then he proceeded to look over the rims of his fashionable eyeglasses and remind me of the importance of driving safely at all times, especially when I have my children in the vehicle with me. Then he blessed me, asked me the names and ages of my children and told me to go home to my little ones and be a good mom. WOW!! Was that unexpected?!
In lieu of our Word of the Day, I will just share this apropos verse from Romans.
Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. Romans 13:2-4a
Drive safely gals!!
# posted by a suburban housewife @ 8:36 PM 
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Okay, this has happened to me too, in a story very similiar to yours! I did go to court, but mine was only about 2 hours. However, the judge asked where I was going, I respectively said "to church" because that was true. EVERYONE IN THE COURTROOM LAUGHED AT ME!! Including the officer who gave me the ticket!! The "kind" judge showed mercy by reducing my $150 ticket to about $130. It was enough to cover the babysitter for my morning in court.
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