Riding in Cars with Teenagers

So much of John's and my role in Bethany's life these days is as chauffer.

The bad part of that is that it is rarely convenient and not always wholeheartedly appreciated. The great part is that it is time with Bethany, which keeps getting rarer as she gets older.

I especially like it when we are hauling her with her friends because it is a little window into her world. Plus, there is nothing sillier than a backseat full of teenage girls.

In fact, one of my favorite "backseat" moments was with Bethany and my nieces. We were stopped at a stoplight and I noticed a jogger paused at the corner. He was probably in his mid-30's, fairly well built and as he jogged in place wearing only a pair of very small parachute shorts, you could tell he was a man who was thinking "Hey, I look pretty good."

But that is only because he could not hear the running commentary of the teenage girls in the backseat of my car.

"Oh my gosh! His pale skin is blinding me."

"Put some clothes on!"

"Eeeew. Look at those little shorts."

"I don't think he's wearing any underwear."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew."

"What if he has a thong?"

"Oh gross!"

"A man-thong."

"They make man-thongs?"

A this point, the light turned green. We drove away, and the man jogged confidently on.

Note to the Naked-jogging-man (as the girls now refer to you): if you are reading this, jog on and keep your chin high. (But you might consider putting on a tank top and losing the man thong.)