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When we go somewhere as a family, my hubby drives the car and the kids and I get to relax. I really don’t like driving, especially in S. Florida, so being a passenger is usually always okay with me. Until it wasn’t…. My oldest got his learner’s permit at 15, which was mind boggling. In a previous life, I worked auto claims, which makes me a nervous rider. Couple that with my child driving me around and it was a recipe for an ulcer.
We agreed early on that hubby would teach the boys to drive and I would watch from afar. Frankly, I don’t have the nerves or the stomach for it and they need a calm teacher. A nervous teacher would do nothing, but make them anxious. I decided one night to let him try driving my car. It was a short distance, less than .5 mile, from just inside our gate to our house, so I thought I could handle it. I was wrong.
Jake did great, but I was a wreck. When we got to the road where he needed to make a right turn, I instructed him to slow down causing him to get a bit frazzled. Consequently, he hit the gas instead of the brake causing a panic. He asked frantically what he should do and my eloquent response was “hit the other pedal!” He hit the brake and made the turn safely and the subsequent turns safely getting us home in one piece albeit with frayed nerves.
Flash forward to March of 2016, Jake had his license for over 6 months and hubby was out of town with Goalielocks for hockey. I was sick and had been horribly sick for several days. I couldn’t keep any fluid or food down and knew that the only way to stop it would be to get some IV fluids. The only way for me to get to the ER was Jake. Jake drove me to the ER and he did a great job.
After several hours of IV fluids, they released me from the ER and Jake picked me up. He drove us to Target to fill my prescription and pick up Gingerale and saltine crackers. This time I was feeling better, but I was still comfortable with his driving. The Mayor meanwhile felt compelled to criticize every move Jacob made on the road, he was relentless. Now almost two years after he got his license, I’m perfectly comfortable being a passenger in his car.
Now when he drives, it’s all about the music.
I am with you SISTER! My kids are 13 and 11, and I’m way too uptight to be the driving instructor. I told my hubby, YOU are going to teach the kids to drive. Now, I go over scenarios with them while I’m driving and point out odd lights, and what to do…and point out crazy drivers and what NOT to do…as training begins long before they are behind the wheel of a car. So, I’m still parenting and involved with their drivers training (years of it) but the physical part of being in car with them when they are behind the wheel…I think I’ll make them worse and create the accident.
(What happened here? MOM happened. Oh, yeah. Sorry.)
It is so scary! We live in Florida, where absolutely nobody can drive and snowbirds make left turns from the far right lanes. It took awhile for Jake to understand my fear wasn’t because I didn’t trust him, but because I didn’t trust every other driver on the road! My husband will be teaching the other two as well. I just don’t have the stomach for it.
You can have yogurt as long as it is not light. Many of the Gatorade products as well as protein shakes has ariiifctal sweetener in them. You can have both as long as they are sweetened with sugar and not artificial sweetener.