In a few short weeks, my daughter will hold a driver's license. The state of California will allow her to operate a moting vehicle without the direction of an adult. As her mother, I am torn. I am frightened by all the obstacles out there that have the potential of causing an accident...the driver that refuses to use his blinker, the guy with his windows down that insists on sharing his booming music with the world, or the elderly woman who can barely see over the steering wheel. Then again, I am almost as excited as my daughter is. It's like when she began first grade -- going to school all day and my mornings opened up again! When she has her license, my days of carpool could be over!
My days of carpool would be over. Gone would be vying for radio time or the talks we share during the ride. My daughter and I will will have to find new ways to connect.
Learning to drive can always be quite a challenge. My parents thought it would be good to learn how to drive a stick shift as well as an automatic which would prove to be a wise decision when I found myself as the only sober driver on a few occasions in college.
My best friend in high school had a father who owned an El Camino. I don’t know whether that car was designed to be a sedan or a pick-up truck for it had unique characteristics of both. The most memorable thing about that vehicle was it’s column shift. Like the stick shift Toyota I was learning on, the gear shaft was off the steering wheel axle so instead of the H shaped gear pattern being horizontal, the El Camino’s was vertical.
There we were one afternoon, trying to make a three point turn in that El Camino. First turn went alright as my friend struggled to put it in reverse for the second part of the turn. We chose an exceptionally arched street paved in such a way so that the rainwater would drain into the gutters effortlessly. For us, however, as my friend tried to put the El Camino in reverse, it might have well as been a precipice off a cliff. I was staring straight down into the gutter from my vantage point sitting shotgun. My friend succeeded with reverse and bolted the car backward. On the flip side of the street’s arc as she once again tried to maneuver the car back into first gear, I sat staring at the blue sky and clouds as the car’s back end gave way to gravity and settled in the rear gutter.
This all struck us as very funny and soon we were shedding happy tears of hysterical laughter at our inexperience, at the arched street, at the maddening ancient El Camino.
I wonder what my daughter will remember learning how to drive in her dad's Camry. How she hated to drive my "boat." (I am happy she doesn't want to drive my van!) A driver's license can spell freedom to teens that still have no real responsibility. They don't pay a mortgage or have dependents. When did she grow up so fast?
This is her moment. I hope she feels the wind in her hair.
