What Kids Never Knew About Growing Up In the Big Country

Over Memorial Day weekend, my family was sitting around the dinner table sharing old stories from when the kids were growing up. Then I casually mentioned that all three of my boys had gotten into some sort of trouble at one time or another while growing up.

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Nothing serious. Just the kinds of mistakes many young people make while learning responsibility and independence. That's when my daughter stopped me and asked, "Wait... Mike got a speeding ticket in your Porsche?" I laughed because she had never heard that story before.

Years ago, on Christmas Eve, I let my oldest son borrow my prized white Porsche 911 to make a quick trip to the radio station. I had accidentally left a bag full of gift wrapping supplies at my office. Since we were still wrapping presents at home for Christmas morning, I asked him to go get it.

To help keep him out of trouble, I also asked one of his sisters to ride along. Before they left, I gave him a simple instruction: "Don't speed. Go straight there and come straight home."

He made it to the station just fine. He even called me to let me know they had found everything. The trip home was a different story.

Apparently, an empty road and a teenage boy driving a sports car proved to be a tempting combination. A police officer pulled him over, and he came home with the wrapping supplies and a speeding ticket.

Before I could finish telling the story at dinner, my wife Donna chimed in. "I told you then that you never should have let him drive that Porsche." Looking back, she may have been right.

Growing Up Comes With Lessons

Thankfully, nobody was hurt, the car was just fine, and my son learned an important lesson. More importantly, he worked to earn the money needed to pay that ticket himself.

That Memorial Day conversation reminded me that every family has stories like these. The goal isn't raising perfect kids. It's raising kids who learn from their mistakes, take responsibility for their actions, and grow into good adults. And my sons and daughters are all great adults.

Looking around that dinner table, I realized that's exactly what happened. And apparently, some family stories can stay hidden for more than 30 years before finally coming out.

Today, kids still have to worry about speeding, wearing seatbelts, and now, one MUST NOT drive distracted.

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