A milestone reached. My Mariah, pure happiness!
Driver’s education over spring break had to be canceled due to track practice & meets all week. Mariah was devastated!
She has counted down the years, months and weeks to when she could get her drivers license. I can relate! I was on top of my driver’s education course at her age to ensure at age 15 ½ years I had my temps and my 16th birthday I had my official license.
Driver’s ed can’t happen over spring break. Just having her temps is peace of mind. She is now totally okay in waiting till summer for her class.
We walk into the BMV and I announce to the officer behind the counter, “Today is a VERY special day!” Yes, he can tell why we are there. Mariah is BEAMING!
The test is nothing to my over-studied little girl. See, I knew she had study power in her!
I tossed her the keys and said she can drive home! Here are the highlights of her 1st driving experience, on the road with real cars:
“Mariah, stop driving with both feet.” “Mariah, you cannot have one foot on the gas and one foot on the break.” “Mariah, drive only with your right foot. Push either the accelerator or the brake.” “Mariah! IF you touch the brake with your left foot again, you will NEVER drive this car again!” That worked! She now drives with her right foot only.
Mariah is a little heavy-footed on the brakes, I think I am getting whiplash! Let’s practice in parking lots first.
Mariah enjoys parking the car in spaces and backing it up. She identifies a special space she will conquer, pulls carefully into it and shouts proudly “Boo-yah!” I say, “Okayyy, put it in park, walk around the car and look.”
She now realizes she is in the middle of 2 parking spaces, 4 feet from the curb and she is laughing! Not so boo-yah, yet!
Mariah stops 10 feet before she reaches stop signs. Sometimes she doesn’t stop at STOP signs and sometimes she stops when there is no stop sign.
“Mariah, did you answer the STOP sign question correctly on your drivers test today?”
I did my job as a mom and made her milestone happen. It will now be Papa’s job when he comes home to teach his granddaughter how to drive before summer driver’s education.
He will have amazing patience with her. He is the same Papa that used to tell me to “reason” with my boundary stomping, ornery two-year old when she tested all the waters. Reason with her? I want to throttle her!
I can’t wait to say those precious words to him after their 1st driving experience together, “Just reason with her, dad.”
Somehow, I know Papa will be her best teacher ever! He has been her whole life. Those two are kindred spirits.
