Teen Driver

After the oldest returned home he began to beat the drum of, "When are you going to take me to get my license?" The first week of school Doug picked him up from school and they headed over to the Driver's License Office. They headed out with a notarized paper documenting the 50 hours of driving that had been completed and the driver's permit, which in our state is a 4x4 typed piece of paper with no picture.

In this age of post 9/11 they did not have enough information to apply for a license. They need a birth cert., S.S. card, legal id. (state id. or passport since these kids don't have a driver's license), permit, proof of car insurance and the notarized document. They returned home empty handed. After a trip to the bank for most of the documents, the guys left Saturday morning for the Driver's License Office only to be told that their driving test slots were filled for the day. What a let down!

Doug uncharacteristically kept our oldest home from school last Tuesday (D.L. office is closed on Mondays)so that he could be the first in line to take the test. Yea, he passed first time round and left with a license in hand and got to show off at school.

Of course you can guess the next drum beat, "When can I drive somewhere by myself?" This weekend he was going to take a car to his friend's house. W-E-L-L ... the car we bought for him to use wouldn't start (too cold/0 degrees) so he left in the Galant. He quickly returned saying the speedometer wasn't working. Three vehicles and only one is working. No driving by himself this weekend and the Galant went into the shop to be serviced this morning. What a welcome to the realities of cars. At least he didn't have to pay the bill.

Life is just beginning to get crazy with a teen driver and guess what!! The youngest son is now taking Driver's Ed. on Saturdays at his school. Aren't we lucky that the school contacted us so our son could get his license in a timely fashion. And no worries they'll send us a bill for the cost of the Driver's Ed. classes. In our state the students have to complete 50 hours of driving with a parent 10 of which are evening hours and must hold their permit for nine months. We just finished having one child drive us all over the place and now get to look forward to a summer of being driven crazy/around.