Ahh....the Midwest....and Second Chance University

I grew up in the Midwest....so there' s something comforting about crossing into territory where you can find a Monster Chop for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And those much maligned cornfields.....I actually like them....they're therapeutic....the beautiful monotony...the order...the sense of growth.
~

We drove 1601 miles in 4 days. I drove mostly....give a teen boy a pillow....and they're like babies....napping and napping. We have a rule in the car....entitled whomever-drives-controls-the-music....and with my son's taste in heavy metal right now.....it was probably a good thing that I drove most of those miles.

~
I am happy to report I did tough it out through 4 of his Cd's....which I dubbed...Satan's greatest hits.....To pass time, I playfully tried to decipher the screams....picking out words like....waistband and pain in a song and attempting to make a logical connection.

~

"Hey, are these guys screaming because their waistbands are too tight and they're in pain?"

~

My son would roll his eyes...the ever tolerant teenager with his semi-hip mom.

~

To his credit....he suffered through an old Whitney Houston CD, a mix of love songs, Coldplay and at least an acceptable old Evanescence CD.

~

The college tours were great. They have great marketing campaigns. I was so revved up by the slide show, the cute guys and girls giving peppy talks and the free pencils and decals.......I was ready to sign up as a freshman in engineering.....trust me...you look at three story virtual reality rooms, wind tunnels and solar cars....and you're ready to join a research team.

~

Although I try really hard not to regret things in my life....I found myself... pained during some of the pep talks...because I missed so many opportunities in college to be playful. I majored in nursing and let's face it ....it's just not a happy major....big science courses...careplans....dressed and ready for clinic by 6:30am.

~
The fun stuff of college....the clubs, the outings, the kegger parties......were always on hold....because the cirrhosis of the liver chapter had to be mastered....or you were spending a quiet evening with an orange and a syringe....so you could master injections....or you were glued to a cassette....trying to distinguish lub dub from the abnormal...lub dub dub....of a heart valve in trouble.

~

While he was off talking to counselors....I actually thought how wonderful it would be if they had Second Chance Universities where you could do it all over again and this time know better.

~

For example... you could get an annoying roommate ...but this time have the skills to handle her.....you could party till dawn and arrange all your classes to start after 2pm.....you could sign up for courses which require little or no homework and lots of in-class discussion....like the significance of Star Wars or Music appreciation....you could go Skiing during spring break because you could actually now afford a lift ticket....and ....an ultra cute ski bunny snow suit....and study abroad....and sit in cafes drinking small cups of dark coffee while your European friends blew smoke rings above your head.

~

And if you had been "too good"in your first go around.....especially in the morals department.....you could always have the joy of sitting at home and watching your husband and childrens' jaws drop .....as they realize the blond woman dancing in front of them on TV in the Girls Gone Wild video clip is .........YOU.

~