I was just thinking...

It is that time...the time most parents dread, the time of....the teenage driver!!   Yes that much feared time is upon us, where children in our house have reached an age where they are eligible to acquire their driver's license.  It has been ten years since we last experienced this phenomenon, and it has taken the entire ten years to recover from the last one.

Actually it started way before the ten years.   It was more like 16 or 17 years ago.  My wife and I had just purchased a car, it was our first one and it was beautiful.  The same weekend we had purchased the car we had guest over.  Early that Saturday morning I took one of my nephews for a ride in the new car.  If I recall correctly he was about twelve years old at the time.  As I was driving he was asking me different questions about the car.  He was very attentive and I guess that I was kind of impressed.   He was a pretty smart kid and he was a fast learner, so I decided to give him a quick driving lesson.

We drove to a virtually empty lot and there I gave him a quick course on how to start and stop the car, how the signal lights operate, how th use the brake, change the gears and accelerate.  Once he demonstrated that he knew how to use these things I then drove around the lot several times and showing him how to navigate, accelerate, slow down and stop.

Once he indicated that he ready I switched seats with him and let him take a turn at the wheel.  Everything started off smooth.  Like I said, he was a smart kid and a fast learner.  We started off driving in small circles and practiced accelerating and stopping, all of which he did very well.  We eventually began driving in larger circles and as he became more and more comfortable we decided to drive a few time around the entire perimeter of the lot.

I mentioned that this lot was virtually empty, and it was save for a lone telephone pole that somewhat near the outer corner of the lot.  Just off of the lot on the right hand side was an old set of bleachers.  As we were driving around the perimeter my nephew noticed the bleachers and the pole.  I told him there was no need to worry there was a good twenty feet between them and that all he needed to do was slow down and drive right between them.  I saw no reason to be alarmed as he had already made quite a few successful laps earlier.

Apparently my nephew's decision making skills were not that developed, confronted with the though of having to drive between the two items apparently was too much for him, because just before navigating between the two obstacles, he let out a loud screech...jumped up on the seat tucking both of his feet under him and covered his eyes and continued screeching until the car smashed into the telephone pole.  

It happened in a matter of seconds, and in a matter of seconds my feelings changed from relief that the kid and the car were okay..to anxiety about having to go home and explain to the wife why I let the kid drive in the first place...and at that moment I actually couldn't think of any..maybe the shock of the crash knocked it out of me.  

Fast forward a few years and it was time for my daughter to get her license but I had sworn after the incident with my nephew that I would not subject myself to that kind of terror again. (not to mention I promised the misses no more driving lessons.)   My daughter insisted that I was being unfair and that she was much more responsible and she began using the guilt trip thing.  ( I was a wimp back then)  I decided to give her one chance, so on the way to school one morning I decided to give a chance at the wheel.  It was only 4 blocks on a straight stretch...

OH MY GOD!!!!  I had never been so scared in my whole entire life (and I have seen some scary stuff!!!!)  This girl must have thought that she was Speed Racer and that my little mazda was the Mach 5.  I remember asking her to slow down, and cautiously turn the corner...she must have heard speed up and see if you can drift around the corner...The shock and the stress of the Telephone incident came rushing back into my memory and I began to panic and pray (does it count as a prayer when all your saying is "Lawd Jesus..Help Me Jesus..Oh Jesus Please!!!)

I finally managed to get her safely pulled over and she got out skipping and happy that she had the chance to drive, meanwhile I just sat on the side of the road trying to collect my sanity.  Rather than go through that again she received the remainder of her driver's training from a paid instructor

So fast forward another ten years and here I am again with another ready to take the driver's seat and two more waiting in the wings hot on his trail to do the same...and all I can say is Lawd Jesus Help Me!!!