Teen Toys II: Driving Lessons

Written by Channie G.

Wednesday, 23 July 2008

We appreciate that our daughter is advancing through her lessons.

Eventually there comes a day when the kids are old enough to learn how to drive. With a little imagination, a bit of money, and many prayers, our progeny go off into the sunset (at least after they have mastered daytime maneuvers). Sometimes, they even earn a license.

Most kids are keen to pedal the metal. My oldest daughter was not. She had no interest, given her view from the passenger seat, in learning how to control a car.

As far as she was concerned, she could transport visa via buses, and the occasional cab, for the rest of her life.

According to her, my husband and I are, in a word, “nuts” for wanting her to commandeer an auto. She articulated her disappointment in our lack of sense.

Nonetheless, age wields power. We made the kid enroll in a driving school, anyway.

Now, several times a week, she returns home, with reports about her developing skills. She’s begun to understand, for instance that straight-aways and roundabouts require different techniques. She’s learned, as well, as she tells us, all wide eyes and exaggerated vocal tones, using a clutch is more difficult than is using a manual transmission.

Despite those bits of progress, our daughter remains convinced that it is inane for her to sort it out, on the road, with other urbanites. In short, she is certain that metropolitan drivers are crazy. Our child testifies that some roadway users: change lanes without putting on their blinkers, drive at speed limits fashioned from their own mentations, and stop abruptly.

Furthermore, she fails to believe that she will ever feel comfortable with: intersections, left hand turns and parallel parking. She has not even begun to fathom how she will drive on inclement days.

As far as regarding road vehicles, themselves, our daughter purports to know the basics; trucks are big, passenger cars are not. She appreciates, as well, that it is crucial to always hold the wheel at exactly “two o’clock,” and “ten o’clock.” In fact, this teen has become so learned in the art of driving that she freely advises her parents. At least daily, my husband and I are reminded to: brake gently, start our engine softly, and to be civil.

Love of my child aside, I reserve the right to continue to curse at highway idiots. My husband reserves the right to continue to approach all motoring matters in his New Yorker fashion. Even so, we appreciate that our daughter is advancing through her lessons.

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