"Blue lights flashin' in my rear view..."

...and if you know the song, you know that eventually the sheriff "smiled and said, 'Boy, you're havin' too much fun.'"

Well, our uniformed officer wasn't smiling. And we certainly were not having too much fun, either.

This morning I had planned to go to the commissary. Although I really dislike grocery shopping with the boys, we were out of several staple items, and it was just time. It was raining, and I almost decided that was excuse enough to stay home, but like I said, it really needed to be done. So we drove on base and went the back way to the commissary on a little road between the clinic and a bunch of dorms and the chow hall. This little road is only about a block long, and the speed limit is 15mph. It is criss-crossed many times over with crosswalks going between all the buildings. But, since it was raining, there were no pedestrians to be seen (and in my defense I always stop for pedestrians nearing the crosswalks).

Apparently this morning I was flying down this road at the breakneck pace of 25mph. I actually don't question that at all. But 25mph doesn't feel very fast, so it wasn't noticeable to me. And the rest, as they say, is history. Two base cops pulled me over, and after what seemed like a 30-minute wait, gave me only a warning. So I was very thankful for that! I spent that time wondering what was going to happen to Adam because of my "reckless driving" - but warnings are not reported to the member's squadron, so we're in luck.

What really got me, though, was that when the cop handed me back my license, registration and all that, and said they were just giving me a warning, he asked me, "Why would you speed when there is a sign up that flashes the speed you're going?" Now this seems like a valid question, because there is indeed one of those digital signs on that road...and there has been for, like, over a year. And I usually notice it. But I guess I've seen it so many times that it didn't stand out to me this morning. Apparently I wasn't paying attention. I pondered how to answer the question, and said, "I guess I just didn't notice it today." He asked again, "But it's a flashing sign that tells you your speed. Why would you still choose to drive too fast?"

At this point, I was getting frustrated. The truth was apparently not good enough? I said, "What do you want me to say? That I chose to speed because I wanted to be a criminal? I just didn't notice the sign today. I usually drive very slow through there and I always stop for pedestrians. Do you need an answer to write down or something?" He answered that yes, he did. But he seemed satisfied with me "not noticing" the sign the second time I said it. And after getting slightly mouthier than I had intended, I was glad he didn't decide to upgrade me to a real ticket!

(Inserting a comment here: Just so everyone is aware, I've only received one speeding ticket in my entire life, and that was in high school. Other than that, I've been pulled over only one other time, and that was for forgetting to turn on my headlights - I had the parking lights on. That was before Drake was born, and I got a warning for that, too. I am not a scary driver! Really, I'm not!)

So I found a parking space at the commissary and called Adam at work. My hands were still shaking. He was very understanding and calmed me down somewhat. He ended the conversation by asking, "But can I tease you every once in awhile, though?" I thought for a minute and said, "Yeah, but wait a few days, okay?"

Then it took me a very long time to convince Drake that Mommy was wrong and the policeman was right. Mommy was driving too fast. It is the nice policeman's job to make sure that people drive safely. And yes, Drake, he is the boss, and he is allowed to tell Mommy what to do.