Maybe I need to pay closer attention...

I'm driving in my typical distracted mother mode. You know the mode: kid in the car, radio on, mind on the laundry, the messy kitchen, the grocery shopping list, etc. Suddenly a voice from the back seat.

"Mom, don't you think this song is inappropriate for me to listen to?"

Suddenly I tune into the radio as Katy Perry sings, "Last Friday night..." Have you heard the song? I can't remember the exact lyric, but skinning dipping after dark, warrants out for arrest, not remembering if they kissed are all part of the lyrics. Now, I'm considering the fact LaNina is now telling me about songs that she shouldn't to.

Trying to cover myself, I answered, "Oh, can you hear that? I thought the volume was pretty low." I turn the volume down farther. But of course the truth is I wasn't paying any attention to the radio.

"Mom, of course, I can hear it."

"How do you know it's inappropriate?" I ask out of curiosity, because really how bad is it when my 9 year old is pointing out things like this to me?

In her best pre-teen snear she answers, "I'm not stupid. The songs about a girl who drank too much alcohol, got kicked out of a bar and did some bad things."

Okay then. I guess she's figured out a lot more than I give her credit for. And how many times has she heard that song anyways?

Where were you when you heard?

When you hear the question these days, you know exactly what they’re really asking. Where were you 10 years ago when our world changed? Where were you when the unexplainable happened? Where were you when planes rammed into buildings and the towers fell?

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 10 years since that horrific day. Like so many Americans, I’m still trying to understand it. I watched the terror unfold on television. I didn’t move for a good three hours once I started watching. Going to work felt moot, so I didn’t. Neither did anybody else. I just stood at the end of my bed and watched, chin open, eyes not believing what I was seeing.

I remember thinking, “Why today? It’s just a Tuesday An ordinary Tuesday. It looks like a nice, sunny Tuesday in New York. Why today?” By the way, I didn't have to look up the day of the week. I remember that. I remember thinking how quiet it was with no planes in the sky. I remember wanting to wrap myself in an American flag and cry for my country.

For my generation, 9/11 is the moment that Kennedy’s assassination was for my parents’ generation and Pearl Harbor was for my grandparents. As someone born a few years after Kennedy was shot, I never really understood why my folks talked about where they were when they heard about Kennedy until 9/11. I never understood why they always mentioned it on my Aunt’s birthday until 9/11. For me, Kennedy’s death remains the part of a movie when everyone cried and I could only look around and wonder why. 9/11 will be like that for my kids, I suppose. It’s a part of history they’ll never really understand on an emotional level.

I’m a West Coast girl. I’ve been to New York, but only on business. I’ve seen the airports, a couple hotels, a couple of meeting rooms and that’s about it. Never been to the Statue of Liberty, Central Park or the Empire State Building. I don’t know anyone who died on 9/11, but it doesn’t change the loss I felt that day and still feel watching the old clips. So sad so many innocent people died. So sad it was all so senseless. So sad the victims never knew the loss the nation felt at their passing.

I don’t know that I’ll do anything special today. My friend who is a pilot will be flying. So, I’ll say more than a few prayers for her. If I see a firefighter, I’ll probably thank him. It’s a symbolic gesture at best, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the most heartfelt thing I can do.

Top 10 Things The Dad Can Do When He Starts Driving Again

Many of you know that for the past 11 months the Dad has not been able to drive. And let me tell you, I've been keeping a mental list of all the things he can do when he starts driving again. Here's my top ten:

10. Make all late night store runs for milk.

9. Drive the dance carpool 4 times a week.

8. Park anywhere he likes without my commenting on what a horrible parking spot he selected.

7. Take the kids to school...every.single.morning.

6. Figure out where soccer practice is, then drive there. It's a moving target.

5. Fight to get the kids ready to go anywhere on time (except dance...La Nina is always ready for dance.)

4. Be the designated driver for any social event.

3. Take himself shopping for new clothes.

2. Leave the house with the kids so I can be home alone. Think about it. It's been a year.

1. Repay the year's worth of bad kids movies I've seen because "You have to drive anyways."

Let's hope this chapter in our lives is getting close to behind us. I'm very ready to have another driver in the house.