Friday, December 24, 2021

December 24, 2021: Wishes for the AMST Elves: A New Driver

[As ever, a holiday week series of wishes for the AmericanStudies Elves—this time focused on some of the communities and folks I love most. Leading up to a special post on a holiday wish for us all!]

One of the somewhat less fun parts of parenting—not a very competitive list at all—is recognizing that your kids will gradually and inevitably move out into the world, a world that can threaten and hurt them in so many ways. Much of that danger is emotional or psychological, but some of it is quite literal, a fact I have found myself contemplating with some regularity as I’ve waited to pick the boys up in the high school parking lot. I don’t have any worries about how my thoughtful and sensitive older son will drive when he gets his learner’s permit in a week (and then his full license in six months)—but I can’t say the same for the many teenage drivers with whom he’ll be frequently surrounded. So AmericanStudies Elves, the first and most important of today’s wishes is that he stays safe on all the roads he ever travels down; the second, less important but certainly present, wish is that his Dad finds peace with all that he can’t control in his sons’ world and lives.

Special holiday wish this weekend,

Ben

PS. What wishes would you beam out to the Elves?

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