Starting at the beginning...again

I was called a spazz today.

Let me just say…..I don’t think it is a natural thing to let your children take the wheel of your car that you have yet to pay off! It causes serious blood pressure problems. It does not promote good will between child and parent. It causes me to utter loud gutterral noises when I think we have a chance of careening into other cars…or curbs…or people innocently walking on the sidewalk. (when in a split second emergency situation, I cannot speak words…just sounds….not pleasant sounds.)

My daughter Bethany got her learner’s permit a couple of weeks ago. After letting her drive home from getting the permit, I told Charles that he is now responsible for her driving education. He rarely has the time or energy for it though, so it’s been falling to me. Turning her first corner, her first day of driving she didn’t put the connection of ‘we need to slow down’ to ‘step on the brake!’ so we went careening around the corner, nearly giving me a fainting spell. After we turned, we both looked at each other and I said, “the brake…USE the brake around corners.” She said she couldn’t think that fast of what to do….I said I wasn’t getting in the car with her again until she could!

Yesterday we were driving along a quiet neighborhood street, in a school zone, going 15 miles an hour. Bethany spotted a grown man riding a bike on the other side of the street and she slowed down and almost stopped. I said, “What?” She said she wanted to make sure he didn’t dart out in front of her. I covered my face with my hands and laughed myself silly. Had to explain that people did not usually dart out in front of moving cars. People walking on the sidewalk beside the street kinda make her freaky too. And she is a little skittish about the middle line in the street. She likes to stay far, far away from it….we’re talking driving by the curb. Watch for parked cars!

Well I’d better stop…she may read this and then she’ll hurt me!

It’s an adventure….something I’ve done by rote for years and years…now I am seeing it through the eyes of a newby. Each little thing that I do by second nature, I have to remind her of….every time. Brake to slow, gas to go, look before changing lanes or turning, put it in park, turn off the engine and give me the keys when we get home.

Don’t you hate being a newby? Don’t you dread having to break one in? ;)