You Have To Go The Speed Limit

The other day my son and I were driving on the interstate and with it being quite traffic laden I said you know you do not have to go so fast. He said " I am not speeding Dad, I am just going the speed limit." After advising him that if the conditions do not warrant it you do not have to go the speed limit he told me that " You are supposed to go the speed limit."

I do not know who to blame here. Is it being 16 years old and having a predetermined need to do everything fast or is that our childrens English vocabulary lessons has somewhere not explained the difference between a limit and a minimum. Maybe I should blame the driver education school I sent him to with $450 of my dollars for not teaching him the difference.

However on more thought perhaps it is just indicative of the problems we all face. I have told children just because you can do something does not mean you should and this is a lesson that is more significant than I knew when I said it.

It is cute and a bit funny although also scary that my son thought that you were supposed to do the speed limit as a minumum but it is the way too many of us live our lives. We went to Florida for a vacation a couple of years ago. We did the whole Disney thing and it was great but in the end I am not sure how much of a vacation it was for my wife as in her desire to see everything and more importantly for the kids to see and do everything she had not a moments peace. I would see her get back from the park at 1030, exhausted to the bone and want to sleep but instead turn over and take the kids to the pool for one last swim.

Sometimes we as parents need to remember that we are the speed limits. I always compared the structure we give our kids to being an electric fence that keeps the cow in the pasture where it is safe. The cow may not like it but she has a harrowing tale to tell her mates when gets loose beyond the fence and has to be rescued. Trips beyond the electric fence are dangerous and exciting. Hopefully the cows and your kids make it home safe. However living beyond the electric fence is dangerous.

Driving the speed limit in all cases is not a good thing either. Even if you do not get hurt you miss alot. You miss the moments that often matter most, those where you slow down and take stock of what you see and feel.

When I was a child when we came to the big city the interstate was marked with a minimum speed and a maximum speed. In our times a minumum is not neccesary as everyone goes to the max. If I can teach my children to know it is ok sometimes to slow down and not go the maximum limit at all times I will be improving their lives.