Temporary Driver's Permits are a right of passage. Temps are one of the steps of moving towards adulthood - breaking free from your dependence on your parents. Most parents find this very stressful and yes, I am one of them. As you may have guessed, my twins have reached this point in life and have recently been given the privilege of obtaining theirs.
Quite frankly, I think I was more excited than them to go take the test than they were! I am sure the majority of parents dread their kids gaining this type of independence - I am NOT one of those. If you have ever read my blog, you know just exactly how much time I spend in the car. At this point, I am over it and ready to turn over some of the responsibility, even if it means I am home with out a car to drive. Okay that last sentence was a complete and total lie! I can't imagine being stuck at home with no way to leave for an extended period of time but I might learn to live with it for an hour or two. Anyway, we were on our way to the DMV and it occurred to me, what if one passes and one doesn't??? Crap! I didn't even think about how I would deal with a situation like that. Luckily, they both passed, we got their temps and two lovely "Student Driver" self cling stickers for the car window(s). Guess what? Those self proclaimed self cling stickers wouldn't stick to the car window! The girls got a lecture that their temps and driver's license, when given, were a privilege and could be revoked by their father or I at any time until they were 18 years old *evil laugh*. Oh and then there was one more thing, a paper for me. This paper will need to be signed by myself or their father stating we drove with them at least fifty hours while they had their temps before they can get their actual license.
A day or two went by and I felt ready to tackle the first driving lesson. I needed to pick Olivia up from a friends' after gymnastics anyway and Sarah wanted to come along. Abigail was the most eager so she hopped in the passenger seat and off we went to the high school parking lot. We went over some of the basics of the car, adjusting mirrors and seats, where the lights were, turning signals and all that jazz. She is ready to go. We drove around the parking lot for a while and finally it was time to head on over to get Olivia. I asked her if she felt comfortable enough to go on the open road and she said yes. We decided we would stay on back roads for every one's safety. As we turned out of the parking lot, I was still feeling pretty confident in my teaching ability. After all, my girls have four wheelers, they have driven our vehicles short distances on our land - this is going to be easy. Or not.
She turned out on the road, proceeded to the stoplight - so far, so good. We continue straight, go a little ways and I have to decide on the best route. Now, we live in a rural area and there are lots of options, my option turned out not to be the best. But as they say, all best laid plans...... Not to mention, it was dusk and rural. Yeah, in hindsight, I must have had a screw loose this night. Anyway, we turn on to Palmer Road and at first it's okay, it straight enough. We travel a little ways and it's time for a turn - Okay not terrific but we are all alive. Another turn - not great but it's okay she is just learning. However, it is growing darker by the minute. A sane person would say, lets pull over and I will drive the rest of the way, right? Well we all know I am clearly not sane and thus let her continue on. Sarah is being a pretty good sport, though I am sure she was getting nervous.
Alright we are now at 310 and she must turn right and immediately turn left - she does so and though her turns weren't great, we all survived! What I forgot about this particular route was just exactly how curvy this road is. As a seasoned driver you don't think about these sort of things because you know how to take curves....until you are in the passenger seat with a student driver, on a country road in the dark and it's too late. Let's just say, we made it out alive but not without me grabbing the steering wheel and screeching from the backseat that went exactly like this: OH MY GOSH! MY HEART HURTS!!! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! MY HEART JUST EXPLODED! Followed by tears. I am pretty sure that Sarah had a little panic attack. I in turn was laughing so hard at Sarah's exclamations that I nearly peed my pants. We finally got to our destination, picked up Olivia and I drove back home.
A few days later, ya know, after I got my nerves back, I decided it was time for Emma's lesson. Abigail wanted to come along to work on her turns, so once again we pile in to the car and head for the a local school which I had been told had a permanent student driver set up. We arrived and I gave Emma the same tour of the vehicle that I had given to Abigail. I turned over the keys and we began to cruise the parking lot. She did okay until we got to the cones. At first, she maneuvered really well through the cones, in and out. Great job Emma! Now this time go the other direction. Well we can't all be good at everything, right? She demolished two cones and decided she was done. Abigail drover us home.
What I learned from this experience is I am apparently a great teacher (minus my lapse in judgement on night driving on the first time out) for one child and a horrible teacher for the other. Guess what Scott? You get to teach Emma. Honestly, he is much better equipped to teach Emma anyway! She is in need of technical definitions. I take no issue with waving the white flag and tapping out. He took her a week later and she had no hesitation in telling me he was a MUCH better teacher than me. It's okay, really, I do not mind one bit! His nerves were shot and I welcomed him to the world of our children's driving education. After all, there are just some areas of parenting that must be shared.
Sincerely,
The Queen of Insanity
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