White Knuckled

Yesterday as I was driving home I got a phone call from the girl. She was home from school and wanted me to take her driving when I got there. For some strange reason I agreed. Without hesitation. What was I thinking?

I hadn't driven with her in a really long time. Our first try at driving she freaked me out so bad I had her pull over. She swerved to the edge of the road without slowing down. Later she very matter of factly said, "That's how Juno does it."

The second time I let her drive she got so mad at me that when I had her pull into my parents' driveway she jumped out of the car with out putting it in park and stormed off leaving the driver door open and the car rolling forward.

So you can see why it surprises me that I readily agreed. What was I thinking?

She has been driving with Mark twice now. To a parking lot. She has also had her first official driving lesson with the paid instructor. So, I guess I thought she had improved. What was I thinking?

Anyway, we got into the car and she pulled the seat up as far as it will go so her short little legs can reach the pedals. Then she adjusted her mirror and looked over her shoulder. Then she waited a few minutes before pulling out.... without looking over her shoulder again. Luckily no one was coming. We drove around a little in our neighborhood before heading out onto the real road. We have really wide streets in out neighborhood, and she did pretty well. She didn't really slow down before turning the car, however. She does all of her braking in the middle of the turn. I mentioned that, and on we went.

Unfortunately, we were out right around 5:00, so the traffic was pretty thick. She was going well below the speed limit and had trouble keeping the car in her lane. I am sure some of those impatient drivers backed off because they thought they were traveling behind a drunk. Maybe I should make a "Student Driver" sign to put in the back window.

We drove through town on some not too busy roads and out onto a country road. I hung in there for 30 minutes. I tried to keep my voice steady and my hands from clutching the door for safety. She almost veered off the road several times while looking into her rear view mirror. At one point she said, "You really make me nervous." I just sighed and didn't answer.

On the way back she was more steady. She kept the car in a somewhat straight line and only veered out of her lane twice. She even did a perfect parking job by the curb in front of our house.

When I walked into the house, Mark said, "You look haggard." I guess my face was somewhat tensed up and crinkly from the stress. Again, What was I thinking?

The next few times it's his job to take her out. He's supposed to be the one teaching her anyway. I did the boy's driving lessons. And since he's always making fun of me for being a bad driver, he shouldn't be relying on me to teach both of our kids to drive!!