Carrie Link

Discombobulated

I don't know what to do with myself. I am lost, disoriented, and deeply troubled. For the last 27 years I've been a driver, and the passenger seat has been my portable office. Really important things go there; grocery lists, books to return to the library, unwatched DVDs that are overdue, etc. If I wanted to be sure to go/do/see something, I placed it in my "office".

NOW I have a twelve-year-old. She has waited impatiently to fit the weight/height/age criteria for sitting in the front seat. She made the age one first, and now she insists on front seat privileges.

Nothing's getting done around here now. I am lost. My sure-fire organizational system has been blown all to bits. Things on the floor of the backseat just don't have that same nagging effect I'm after. They tend to get stepped on and forgotten, not good.

The real fun will start when my son turns 12 and they fight for the front seat. I may have to go retro and get a bench seat, so we can all be one big unhappy family in the front.

In the meantime, I'm trying to change my ancient traditions, but it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and this old dog is no exception.