My Son's Social Life

Now I understand why everyone hires chauffeurs around here. On Saturday Adrian had a birthday party, of Meera. So at 11 we go buy a gift at BHV which is in Jnah, a southern part of West Beirut. At 12 I drop him off at the birthday in Verdun, another neighborhood. Then I have to look for a shirt for Hana, which is in a neighborhood called Basta. From Basta back to Verdun, in the meantime stopping for another gift, this time for Adel, because when I pick Adrian up at 3:00, he’s late for his next birthday, of Adel, which is downtown. From downtown I have to drive all the way to Gobeireh, to a hardware store for some filing cabinets, back to downtown, where Adrian decides to stay a little longer, so back home (Hamra), and then I pick him up at 7 from a friend’s (Adel) house, which - for a change – is almost around the corner here, on the seaside. I think I have been in the car pretty much from 11 to 6, with a few stops here and there, and driven over 60 kilometers to get all over town. Today I had to pick him up at a friend’s (Rand) house, here he slept over, now he is getting ready to go with another friend (Michael, who lives here in the building) to the mountains where Michael’s parents are invited for lunch, and the kids can play since this is at a massive villa with a huge garden (I am being told). When he comes back in the afternoon, I’ve got to drive him over to his grandmother’s where he sleeps every Sunday night, and pick him up again Monday morning before we go to school. So all I have done is drive him around. His social life is definitely more alive than mine. All I can do now (in between driving Adrian all over town to his social engagements) is lie in exasperation at the beach. I’m going at 12 with Anne. Maybe Cecile comes too. So what do we do with our weekends in Beirut? We drive our children around.
He hasn't gotten to the phoning stage yet. I will know when my phone bill will soar.