To Vent?

To vent or not to vent?  I received an exasperated phone call from my daughter, Ashton this morning.  I said the obligatory "Hello" and "How are you doing?".  Ashton came back with, "I gotta vent."  My thoughts immediately turned to what the venting could be about.....her new puppy, some parent of a student, a teacher problem, Brandon,the new husband of six months (Sorry Brandon!), finances, the apartment, and the list went on.  She proceeded to tell me about her crazy morning in which she got a flat tire on the way to work.  She had pulled over in a quandary with the deflated tire and proceeded to call and text her sweet husband.  She got no reply and was getting a little frustrated.  Not knowing whether Brandon had purchased the towing/fix the tires plan with through their insurance company she proceeded to call the company to find out.  Yes!  They had the towing package and someone was dispatched to arrive on the scene to assist Ashton in changing the tire.  Meanwhile Ashton is late for work and very frustrated knowing that her sweet little second graders would start school without her.  Calls were made to the school and help found to assist in Ashton's class until she could get there.  When the roadside assistance guy arrived it was discovered that the lug nuts on the wheels required a special key to remove them and Ashton, being unaware of the need for a key realized she did not have one.  They had just purchased the car a month ago and no such key was supplied with the vehicle. Grrrrr!  After a few thousand more texts and calls Brandon finally called Ashton back to see what the emergency was.  He quickly came to her aide, switched cars with her and she headed off to her school.

My children's venting just makes me smile.  These are the little things that just make me happy to be a mom.  I'm sorry Ashton had a rough morning but, she got through it and she will no doubt face more frustrations in the future.  I'm grateful that I get the "I need to vent" phone call not just from Ashton, but from all my children.  Wherever they are I am here to listen to their challenges, concerns, frustrations and successes.  I hear it in letters from my son in Brazil, and in phone calls from Rexburg.  I even get the occasional vent right here in my home from my eleven year old son.  To vent or not to vent?  To vent!!!