A Limo Ride

Tonight we spent the night with old friends celebrating the solstice and a birthday. Of course I brought the kids because I can't go anywhere without the kids, having one with a trach makes getting a babysitter out of the question. And it just so happens that my oldest closest friends are childless. But they are good sports and don't mind the kids coming along. I think it is good for them (the kids) to see adults entertaining and they keep themselves busy in the background. So the night goes along and all is nice. The kids are extremely well behaved and it is very late (by kids standards) by the time we hit the road. On the way home I saw something that caught my eye and made me think. Since as far back as I can remember I've been a bit of a philosopher. While other kids in high school were doing who knows what, I enjoyed staying up late debating religion and other such topics with my friends until the wee hours of the morning. So of course I can make something out of what others see as nothing at all. What I notice, is a large stretch Hummer limo driving parallel to us on the last mile home. I am imagining what people are riding in the back, enjoying themselves free from the responsibility of driving. In our pop-culture obsessed society it is something that people aspire to, to be so important that you're riding in the back seat of a limo, free to enjoy the ride without concern for the rest of the world. Are they dignitaries or prom kids hoping to feel important for a single night? And here I am, riding in the back seat, free of the responsibility of the rules of the road. But it is not the same. Or is it? I'm comfortable enough in the back seat, our car is nice enough. We have leather seats. I'm feeling pretty good after several glasses of wine with good friends. Buuuut, I am only in the backseat because my daughter has a life-threatening condition. As I look out the window I imagine who might be riding in this extravagant limo next to me, perhaps looking out the window. I wonder what they are thinking? Do they have any thought for who is driving next to them? We are having a very similar experience yet I am sure our feelings are not the same. Do I feel lucky to be riding in the backseat for the safety of my daughter? Do they feel lucky? I'm not sure. Why do we hold onto these crazy ideas of what makes us important and what is exciting. The human mind is tricky because everything is truly what you THINK it is and you never know what it is to be someone else. And the person you're envying in the limo next door might just be more miserable than you even though they have no reason in the world to be.