Teenage Driving and Letting Go of Grudges
No One was Injured While My Daughter Learned to Drive
All that said...I will NEVER forgive my ex-husband for leaving me in charge of teaching our daughter how to drive!
It would be an understatement to describe my daughter as a "high-strung" teenager. Heck, she's now a high-strung adult. She has gotten a little better, but she really didn't deal well with criticism as a teen.
Admittedly, I was probably more than a little impatient at times. I can remember an excursion before my daughter's driver's education lessons started when she was driving my Chevy S-10 Blazer with me in the passenger seat. We stopped at the local convenience store prior to an 18-mile drive on a straight state highway to her place of employment. For some reason I can't recall, we also needed to stop at the local hardware store, on the same straight highway.
As my daughter began to back out of the parking space, I felt she was just a bit too close to another car and I panicked. I loudly told her to put the Blazer in "Park" and that I would be driving.
Things seemed to change between the time I took driver's education in 1982 and when I paid someone to teach my daughter how to drive in 1999. Apparently, the driver's education instructor is no longer responsible for teaching teenagers how to drive. Their sole purpose to exclaim "You don't know how to drive" and use my daughter's paid-for lesson time to track down other driver's education students.
Finally, my daughter completed her driver's observation hours and it was time to take her driving test. For some reason, the testing officer chose to have her do the maneuverability portion of the test first.
My daughter promptly hit a cone and burst into hysterical tears.
The officer came to talk to me and explained that she would have to take the test again. The normal driver's testing procedure in Ohio is to wait one week after a failed test. For some reason (my daughter believes it was the low-cut shirt I was wearing that day), he allowed her to schedule an appointment for the following afternoon.
The second attempt at my teenage daughter's driving test was a success and she was the proud holder of an Ohio driver's license.
Heck, it only took ME four attempts when I was pregnant with her!
Published by Debbie Henthorn - Featured Contributor in Business & Finance and Lifestyle
Debbie has been blessed with an incurable wanderlust. Former jobs included extensive travel throughout the United States, making it possible for this self-proclaimed "food/beer/wine geek" to taste the countr... View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentI started my daughter's driving lesson by telling her there was one thing to remember, "you are driving a 2000 pound weapon, think of all the other drivers, cars and pedestrians as people you love, don't target them with your weapon". I also told her to think of the brake lights of the car ahead as additional stop lights and stay two car lengths behind because I love you! (her). She has had her license for 5 years and never so much as a fender bender. Driver's Ed doesn't care as much about your kids as you do, that's the problem with teen drivers. Learning from parents is the best.
Has your driving improved over the years? I hope so! ;)
I almost could have written the same article about teaching my daughter to drive. LOL. Thank you so much for sharing.
I remember my dad yelling and my mom constantly going "aaggghhhh". Needless to say I taught my sister how to drive just to spare her the trauma. Great story Debbie!
cute article.
lol cute, the way I am going my kids will be the ones teaching me