Driver’s Ed

I’ve been spending time in the passenger seat as my gbabe learns to drive. In general, I love to be chauffeured. As a single person, I’m typically the one doing all the driving. I usually enjoy it when someone else takes the wheel and I can relax and marvel at the scenery…usually.

Although the gbabe has had his permit for a while, he hasn’t been interested in driving until the past few months. According to an article in the Washington Post, the hesitation or disinterest in driving is typical of his generation. His reluctance to drive is so contrary to my experience with his mom and uncle. Had it been open, they would have been at the license bureau at 12:01 AM on their birthdays.

It’s possible that an earlier episode of “Driving with Mimi” traumatized him. I thought he had already driven on the highway, so I instructed him to merge onto Highway 70. In hindsight, I learned he had NOT driven on the interstate before, AND my frequent, elevated directives to “SLOW DOWN” and “SPEED UP” may have caused a tiny little bit of anxiety in the lad.

He’s really doing a good job and I tell him that with each outing. He’s still working on navigation, so he drives to the far end of a parking lot and lets me walk 2 miles to the store. We haven’t tried parallel parking, but he assures me he can fail that on the driver’s test and still get his license. I’m taking his word for it.

All in all, he’s been very patient with his instructor. There have been a few, “You already told me that,” and more than one, “I KNOW!” I’m glad my hair is already white; I would hate for him to think he’s responsible for that AND my panic attacks.