Conversations in the car

I am fully submerged in raising two teenagers.  I closer to 17 than 16 year old and a 14 year old. 
What scares me is that I remember ME when I was those ages and HOLY CRAP!

It isn't always easy going with teens, and lots of time you don't really get to see inside their world, but for just a little while I get to peek.
These moments are when we are in the car (or van).  When I play chauffeur to them with their friends to the mall or the rink I get to hear both sides of their conversations about the boy in class who is so dorky (yet the giggle like crazy talking about him) or the new Justin Bieber song that they know all the words to.  It's my little window into their world that I wouldn't normally get to see.

While I enjoy the moments where I can see the interacting with their friends, I really look forward to the ones where it is just me and them.  One on one.  They talk more because they don't have to deal with the awkward eye contact and just feel more at ease.  There are no distractions like TV or computer in the car so we get the quality time I so long for sometimes.  I find myself having intelligent conversations with my teenagers that don't involve any anger or frustration by either parties. 

Tonight I volunteered to pick up my son from soccer tryouts because secretly I was wanting to hear how his first days of grade 11 have been going.  I was also lucky enough to have 30 minutes in the car when I drove him back to his Dad's.  We talked about current events, technology, school teachers, lawyers.  As a parent of a teenager I will take what I can get and I am getting a lot out of these conversations in the car.