So Much to Learn

 Did you ever make plans that sounded brilliant while they were in the planning stages; but the more time that passed, the more you wondered why you bothered in the first place?  Yeah, TeenPact sounded like a terrific idea until I realized I was going to have to drive back and forth to Atlanta in one day - twice in the same week - and then ride a church van back and forth to Atlanta, bringing my total number of trips back and forth to three in one week.

Alas, we survived the week and learned some vital lessons in the process.
1. Delilah, as we affectionately call our GPS, lived up to her name (as a girl who can lead you astray) as I searched to find the Calvin Center, the camp where the TeenPact kids were staying Monday through Thursday.  Apparently Upper Woolsley, Lower Woolsley, and Woolsley Roads are just too confusing for her to keep straight.  We left home at 5:10am which should have given us plenty of time to drop off luggage before traveling to the Capitol. And while we did eventually find the camp, we barely had time to eat lunch at the Capitol and get the kids where they needed to be by 1pm.  We owe no thanks to Delilah.  Did I mention another mom with a car load of boys was following me, making Delilah's errors even more infuriating and humiliating?

2. Just because the parking meter gobbles up dollar bills, law abiding citizens who live 5 hours from Atlanta have little defense against parking citations.  Long story...but the short version is...I can appeal it (Can you just watch video surveillance you have?  I am the lady in the red jacket who at 11:55 fed money into the machine only for your machine to fail to produce a receipt or to credit my three dollars to parking space 268?) but I have to appear in court and the appeal takes 45-60 days.  By then, were I to lose the appeal, the fee on my ticket would have doubled (or more) after spending $80 to drive back and forth to Atlanta.  Nothing like paying $38/hour ($3 in the meter and $35 in fines) to park.  Welcome to Atlanta.  We are so glad you are here!

3.  The girls can indeed wear skirts that hit below their knees without looking completely out of fashion (i.e. like geeks).  I have just one thing to say...thank God for pencil skirts.  While they still groaned at having to accommodate a strict dress code, they certainly looked like they belonged amongst the politicians and lobbyists.

Five of the six kids, scared and nervous, before their first session Monday afternoon.

The famous gold dome

 4.  Some lobbyist tell TeenPact students that the company for whom they work forbids them to talk to anyone from TeenPact.  Okay...now that's a little sketch.  You are forbidden to answer questions like, "Who are you advocating for?" and "What made you want to become a lobbyist?"  Serious trick questions that some 15yo could one day use against you.  Simply reaffirms my belief that lobbyists are just one step above used car salesmen.

Our group on the floor of the Georgia House with Representative Chapman - By this time they are pros at navigating the Capitol and can tell us all about parliamentary procedure in the Georgia Legislature.

5. If the girls return to TeenPact and stay at the residential camp, Patrick may have to be a chaperone.  My girls are not used to receiving such obvious attention from the opposite sex.  As Hannah says, "Around here, everyone knows my dad and it's like I have an electric fence around me that no boy is willing to get near."  Apparently that was not so in Atlanta.  No worries though, Victoria.  Your dad can still scare off the boy with the awful bowl hair cut.

6.  A grande Americano with an extra shot of espresso is all that is needed to keep me fully awake from Macon to Brunswick.  Yeah...Starbucks thinks I moved or was vacationing - 3 drinks credited to my account this week....all from the same store in Macon.

Coming Soon: Love and Marriage: The Greatest Show on Earth