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Monday, November 22, 2010

The Wild Mouse is not a Fun Ride

I'm back!  After a weekend of computer dysfunction, I am once again able to put my thoughts into blog form for others to read, ridicule and/or relate to.  Hope you didn't miss me too much. 
Well, we took my daughter out to practice driving once again yesterday.  She has had her temps since October and due to scheduling conflicts and an early dusk (we figured we'd stick with daylight first) this is the third or fourth time she has been driving.  She had driven around the parking lot at a local vacant business and the high school at first.  When we first put her in the driver's seat, she asked "Which way do I turn it to start it?"  Yes, that was her actual first question.  No joke.  Nothing like upping my confidence in you baby girl.  After a quick lesson in how to start a car and a quick lesson on changing gears, she slowly inched forward and drifted about twenty feet.  She was then prompted to brake which led to a testing of the seat belt restraints.  After much more drifting, reversing and one scary moment when the gas was mistaken for the brake, we called it quits and headed home.  The second trip was a little better.  Then tired of making loops with no obstacles and hoping to go above 10 mph, I graduated her to the street.  She did ok.  Typical student driver.  We did go over 10 mph.  We went 15.  But for a first time driving on a road with other cars, she did really well.  Then yesterday, Hubby demoted her back to the parking lot.  He said he wanted her to get a better feel for controlling the car, but I think her confidence took a hit in the meantime.  She seemed more nervous than she did driving around the neighborhood and was right back to where she was when she first started driving.  I shut my eyes (to avoid becoming sick in the backseat) and we looped and looped and looped the parking lot.  With my daughter's style of sudden braking, it was like riding the wild mouse at the amusement park.  Turn, turn, turn, jerk to a stop.  Turn, turn, turn, jerk to a stop.  I think next time we go out, I'll insist on the roads in the neighborhood.  I think it does a lot for her confidence and her skills.  I know it is a lot better on my stomach.

1 comment:

  1. I can't believe she is driving!!! Wasn't she just three last week???

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