Driving

One thing I had hoped as I got older is that I would not turn into the most hated backseat driver when I get in the car with my kids. While I don't recall my mom ever verbalizing any concerns or complaints when I was a new driver, I still have visions of her gripping the armrest like her life depended on it when she was in the car with me. This didn't last forever but I couldn't tell you when it finally stopped. 

When my daughter was learning how to drive, I thought it would be a great idea for my husband to be the one to teach her. He was always so excited about the kids driving and he put a lot of effort into looking things up. He accompanied my daughter to the DMV to get the learner's permit and he even bought this practice wheel so she could put some hours into a simulator before actually getting into the vehicle. I tried to not say anything and let him employ whatever strategy he thought was wise but after awhile, I'd noticed that my daughter wasn't actually able to go out with him and this whole project just stalled. I had hoped that by the time senior year started, she would have her license so I had to intervene. I set up a schedule, with the goal of her getting her license by her 18th birthday and I agreed to put her into driving school. If I was the only parent consulted, I would have done driving school from the get go since that was what I did for myself. At 17, I scraped some money together and enrolled myself in driving school so that by the time I was 18, I got my license. 

I'm so glad that all of this is in the past now. My daughter has her license and she drives just fine. While she may not be ready for anything over one hour from home, certainly not a drive to and from Pitt, I have no doubt that if she needed to, she can drive herself to wherever she needs to go, no matter how far it may be. I picked her up from the train station today, something that I fought to be able to do by myself because my husband keeps insisting that he would do it and I never get to. I got ready early and just said I was going to do the pickup and no, I did not want him along. When we got back, I recommended that we go out for dinner and I just stepped out ahead of everyone else because I wanted to drive. Unfortunately, I hadn't even pulled out yet and the backseat driving started already. He goes, "Lights." I am so sick of it, honestly. Here is a person who trusts nobody but himself. Every driver is an idiot. The complaints? They never stop. I'm backing out and he's looking at the mirror. I suppose I should just let him drive whenever we are together. 

At the train station, there was no parking available but they do have spots for drop off and pick up so I found my way there and stayed in the car. I texted my daughter the photo of the lovely trash bins I was parked next to but when I saw her come out, I decided to just go up to where she was and load there. I am so glad I was alone for pick up. I love spending time with my daughter in the car when she's in a chipper mood and whenever she comes home from college, we always have a lot to catch up on. The best part, no back seat driver.

I'm parked here by these bins!

Playlist Recommendation: Driving, Everything But The Girl