Springtime, Are You Lurking?

The little aliens finally removed their grimy fingers from their laptops, saddled up and took a bike ride. Smart Border Collie was granted her long-awaited car ride, head hanging out the window, smile on her face! The sidewalks are visible again and welcoming dog walkers. Even if it’s a little tease of what’s to come, it was nice to     shove everyone outside and air out the  house.

So now the aliens are on the loose outdoors, at 10 years old, you can’t keep them fenced in forever. And so begins the outside Mommy worries. Where are they, who are they with, what are they doing?

Most kids their age have cell phones. It’s a little extra comfort for the parents knowing they can call them to check up. Of course without GPS, how will I know where they really are? And given a mischievous kid as Dear Daughter is, she will make up stories until the sheep come home!

Can we microchip them like our dogs, just in case they get lost? Should I hire the Google Street Car for the spring and summer? Should I just drink more vodka and do my nails? What makes sense in 2011? When Mommies In Orbit grew up, we could ride our bikes all over creation and come home when the parents turned the porch light on and off.

You can’t just set them on the front porch in rocking chairs and expect them to be entertained? Or can I? After all, Wi-Fi reaches that far. How did you let out the Mommy strings when your kids were tweens? I guess I’ll be asking a lot of advice from those who have teenagers, they have battle scars and stories to tell about kids on the loose. Until then, we can enjoy the warm days, send the kids packin’ and use our Mom knowledge to keep them safe.