I’ve already received my share of criticism for allowing my seventeen year old son to buy a motorcycle. It’s not just a motorcycle; it’s actually a “crotch rocket,” a Ninja and its brand spanking new. I believe it had one mile on it when we loaded it up in the van. Even Super Dad II said, “What are you thinking?” Ok, here is my motherly logic. He has been employed at the same job for 15 months; so he’s earned and saved the money to buy it. If we said, “NO,” what do you think would happen the day he turns 18? He also drove a moped over 2,000 miles when he was fifteen years old without an accident. That summer a friend of ours let him help with his construction business so we let him buy a moped to get to work so we wouldn’t have to transport him. Since he struggles with dyslexia we are always looking for ways to encourage him with hands-on learning experiences.

But here is the amusing part of the whole transaction. He thought I should drive it home from the dealership since he only has a motorcycle permit and he’s also still nervous about driving on the interstate. I decided we should remove another seat from the 15 passenger family “truckster” and load it up to bring it home. Yes, I do have a valid motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license because I haven’t bothered to drop it when I’ve renewed. The only riding I’ve done in the past 20 years was picking up my husband’s GSXR1000 from the shop when it got new tires a few years ago to drive it home and jumping on the kid’s dirt bikes once and a while to go check on a cow and calf. I should also mention that I’m running a fever now too, after caring for all of my sick children. (See my blog from last week “Too Many Sick Children”) Therefore I didn’t feel it was a prudent decision for me to ride it 30 miles on the interstate. I’m sure you’re aware that fevers don’t prevent Super Moms from performing missions deemed important by their children. Nor would a child consider it unreasonable to make such a request as long as Super Mom is still conscious.

My son has informed me just how much money he’ll be saving on gas; since he will be riding his motorcycle everywhere and it gets over 50 mpg. My remark about the extra $83 a month in insurance was brushed off as a trivial sum, easily covered by his minimum wage paycheck. In his eyes, he is “The Man,” on this bike; surely, all the girls have their eyes on him. I’ll let you know when the phone starts ringing off the hook.