*click*

As I was driving Alyssa to school this morning, I heard a *click* in the back seat. "Did you unbuckle your seat?" I asked. She replied, "No." Relying on my mom instincts, I asked again. As I looked in the rear view mirror, she gave me a head nod. At that point, I immediately went into "freak-out" mode. I don't know if you have ever been in "freak-out" mode while driving, but you look for the first place you can turn in, jump out of the car, open the door, and start yelling. Yes, that was me freaking out.

I managed to stop yelling and explain to Alyssa that the seat belt is for her safety and it holds her in her seat if another car hits Mommy's car. I even demonstrated what would happen if she flew forward with it on and described what would happen without it on. Wanting to make an impact, that description went something like this, "You could going flying out of the seat, go through the windshield, and die!" It may have been a little extreme, but I followed it up by telling her Mommy doesn't want her to die and the seat belt keeps her safe in her seat. Like I said above, I was in "freak-out" mode. This is the first time this has happened while we were driving and I wasn't prepared for the impromptu lecture. Point made.

All buckled in, we get back on the road and Alyssa says, "In church, we learned that Jesus died on the cross." (pause) "Mommy, I don't want to die on the cross." I chuckled, "Honey, you're not going to die on the cross." I think I have some explaining to do when I get home.