Perhaps my biggest beef with living here is the legal driving age, which is 14. The license is restricted, but if they pass the tests, kids this age can drive by themselves between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. While I get that kids this young sometimes need to be able to drive farm equipment, I see no good reason for the typical 14- or 15-year-old to be driving. Let’s face it — most teenagers are stupid. They think they’re invincible, they often like speed and they’re inexperienced. Bad combination of factors.

I realize each kid is different and parents have their own reasons for letting their young teenagers drive, including being able to drive themselves to and from school and sports practices. I can definitely see the appeal there, especially in a place where many of us have to drive a fair amount of miles to get to school.

Maybe I’ll change my mind when my daughters turn 14, but for now I’ve told them that there’s no way in this life that they’re getting a driver’s license until they’re 16. I know there are mature, responsible 14- and 15-year-olds out there, but in my opinion, and obviously it’s colored by not having grown up around here, driving is way too heavy of a burden and responsibility for someone that young. My kids definitely won’t be driving or riding in cars full of other teenagers either.

What do you think? Is 14 or 15 too young to drive? Why or why not?

I drove over 2400 miles alone with my four kids last month to visit my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all without anyone losing any limbs or vital organs. I only lost my patience a few times — the incessant squabbling, whining and air-hitting took its toll, as did the inevitable question, “Are we almost there?” — and amazingly, the drive went much faster than I had anticipated.

We had some quite pleasant and interesting conversations. I learned that Cody is a truly deep thinker. The concepts he thinks about are way more complex than the typical 5-year-old. I learned that Rachel is crazy-in-love with Nick Jonas and that Andie worries more about life than I thought possible. I also learned, again, that Logan can fall asleep in a vehicle mid-bite.

It was a great experience. Not just visiting the relatives and getting away from the stress of everyday life, but the long periods of time spent with my kids, showing them the gradual rising and swelling of the land as we drove further west, and reveling in their awe at the mountains I had taken for granted growing up. It was like seeing the landscape for the first time again to see it through their fascinated eyes.

Showing them my grandparents’ old house, the house that my great-grandfather built, visiting my grandparents’ graves and the elementary school I attended was probably more interesting for me than for them, but the girls seemed excited to see parts of my past. It was fun to show them the things I remembered, even though old haunts, stores and streets were undoubtedly fairly insignificant to them.

Watching them getting to know my aunts and uncles and cousins, and particularly my 96-year-old grandmother, made me swell with happiness. At home, the only family nearby is my sister, so being around all of this extended family, as well as my parents, was bliss. I love my family to pieces and it has always bugged me that I live so far away from them.

So, it was with sadness and a few tears that we made our way back home. As the landscape became flatter and flatter, we knew we were close to home (though the hordes of bugs committing suicide on our windshield gave us a clue as well). And when we pulled into my in-laws’ yard at the last half hour of our trip and the kids all jumped out of the van with cries of uninhibited joy, I knew we’re in a good place here too.

Now that I know I can make that trip by myself, my family doesn’t seem so far away anymore.

However, the beautiful weather and virtually bug-less environment my family is blessed enough to live in now seems impossibly far.

You gotta love the good ol’ Midwest. Or at least use lots of mosquito repellent.

Where have you and your family vacationed?