Growing up I was sure that everything that was fun and cool happened after midnight.  The reason I was so certain of this was because my curfew was 11:30.

No matter how hard I tried to negotiate a later curfew my dad would say “nothing good happens after midnight.”.  Tried as I might to convince him that anything I did after midnight I could do before midnight (FYI  Not a good argument for getting your curfew extended) he wouldn’t budge.  I was convinced that he was placed on this earth to make my life miserable.

Now that I am a parent I know that there were several reasons why Dad didn’t want me out later.  First, he was tired and couldn’t go to bed until his daughter was home.  Second, he was kind of right.  No teenager ever makes better decisions when the clock strikes midnight.

All those old curfew arguments came flooding back this weekend as I read this article in the Oakland Press ttp://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/05/20/news/state/doc4fb9368569b2e743044326.txts.

Six teenagers were involved in a car crash at 4:20 a.m. that killed two, seriously injured two and changed the lives of so many forever.  As I stared at the time all I could hear was my dad saying “Nothing good happens after midnight.”.

I don’t know if the parents had any idea their children were out at that hour.  I am sure up until the point of impact the teens were having a great time and thought they were invincible.  At that age everyone does, but the truth is all those kids should have been home in bed  They should have had the opportunity to get up and grow up and be amazing.

My heart goes out to the families that lost kids that night and to the kids that survived.  Two lost their lives but they all lost their innocence.

If my dad were still here I would call him and tell him thank you.  Thank you for making me come home and for caring enough to make sure I was safe and sound before your head hit the pillow.