Cousin Mark was getting married! Clearly that meant two
things; his wonderful girlfriend would now be an official member of the family,
and we were going to party! The hubby and I were in a pickle though, seeing as
we both wanted to get a little pickled ourselves that evening. I knew that Andy
would want to drink and celebrate with his cousin and I certainly didn’t want
to ruin his fun by asking him to sober cab. Besides, I knew the only way I’d
manage to get at least one dance out of the guy was to get him drunk enough to
not notice he was dancing. I wanted to cut loose as well and enjoy my night
drinking with my siblings in law. It’s not very often that we’re all in town
together, much less for a party, and a wedding at that. Plus, craft
beer loving Mark would be supplying the party with kegs galore of Schell’s
Oktoberfest. I really enjoy their Oktoberfest and wanted to take full advantage
of the bride and groom’s hospitality. We did have an option for a ride though… Ma and Pa
Strom.
Our sober cabs for the evening. (Studio Veil photo booth)
Really, it was perfect. They were going the same place we
were, at the same time! Those are of course, the most basic rules of
carpooling. And since they planned on driving home we knew at least one of them
would be sober. Which is the first rule of taking a sober cab – making sure your
driver is actually sober. Besides, if your parents were like the majority of
parents I knew growing up, they always stressed the same rule – don’t get in a
car with someone who’s been drinking. Andy’s parents were no different. And
just because we were now adults and could legally drink didn’t mean that they had
stopped worrying. Sometimes I think they worry more especially because we can
legally drink. So of course they weren’t going to tell us that they couldn’t
give us a ride. Go back on what they’ve been preaching since we were sixteen?
That’s something no parent ever really wants to do. Besides, Andy still mows
their lawn and they really didn’t want to mess that up.
As a bonus, brother Bob and sis-in-law Nichole
were rolling in from out of town and needed a ride too. It was a regular family
reunion. As we piled six deep into the old minivan I got the distinct
impression that Ma and Pa Strom were actually enjoying themselves. Ok, maybe
not so much when we were hinting (and not so subtly) that we wanted to pregame
the wedding at the bar near the church. The idea was shot down and instead we arrived early and found our
seats with the rest of the Strom clan in the church. We were witness to a
beautiful and touching wedding, complete with a family photo at the end. And then it was on to dinner, dancing, and a
night of debauchery!
Photographic evidence of debauchery. (Studio Veil photo booth)
It was the best of both worlds – a lovely family wedding and
a night of beer drinking with the buds. The
beer was wonderful, as the Oktoberfest from Schell's always proves to be, and it
was free and free flowing. The beer flowed so freely in fact that Mark’s loving
cousins got together and rewrote the announcement on the marquee sign at the venue with
a touching message for the loving couple. I did successfully get Andy drunk enough
to dance with me for the last song of the evening and my mood got as ripped as
my fishnets stockings did after a night of breaking it down on the dance floor.
The ‘rents drove us safely home and I
could tell that they were touched by our drunken bonding in the back seats of
their van. They had most of their clan safely in their care, giggling over a night
of drunken escapades and fun. We took them at their word, to always let them
know when we needed a safe ride home, and they in turn held up their end of the
bargain. Who knew mom and dad would provide one of the best sober rides we’ve
had in a while. Besides, they got to spend some time with the kids, even if we
were a little extra bubbly, and what parent doesn’t like that?
This is what happens when you provide such good beer. (via Mark and Jess Strom)
So while you think your parents are the last people you'd like to get a sober ride from, remember that they really do want to see you just as safe now as they did when you were younger. And if you're going the same place already, why not take them up on a ride and carpool? Besides, you're a legal, drinking adult and they can't yell at you for drinking all the free beer you can hold! Consider your parents the next time you need a sober cab, and hey, if they need a ride, return the favor!
