Driving Disdains

I saw a question posed on a list yesterday that said what was your first driving experience like?

Well that news can be delivered in one word: disastrous.

Back when I was in high school, getting your license was a big deal. I remember parents pulling students out of school on the very day they were eligible to become licensed drivers, and when they returned the next day, they flashed that little plastic card to everyone who would look their way. 

Not me.

I was eligible for my license in the summer, so Mom didn't have to pull me out of class, but even if that day had fallen in the school year, she wouldn't have had to do that. As the day neared when my waiver was about to expire, she had to practically push me to the BMV. I resisted the entire way and apparently heavy-sighed my way all the way through the written test. 

Mercifully, I passed the test and left with my own little piece of plastic that day.

And I didn't care one bit. 

I was still recovering from that first day of driving in driver's ed. I'd gone to the classes, which were basically summer school for us. I sat in the classroom, listened to the teacher, watched the videos, and did pretty well with the concept tests.

Then they divided us up into cars. Our car had three students and one instructor. I remember one of my fellow car-mates, but not the other one. But what I've never forgotten is that first few minutes behind the wheel.

Disastrous.

We got in the car and our instructor asked which of us had driven before. Two hands shot up to the roof of the vehicle. I squirmed nervously in my seat and didn't make eye contact. I was the one with conscientious parents who took seriously the rules that you shouldn't drive without a license. Dad had taken me to the church parking lot so I could get a small feel for the wheel and pedals, but I hadn't come anywhere near  a road. Not once. 

When it was my turn to drive, I slid into the front seat next to my very nervous instructor and tried to pretend I was totally cool with this experience. 

In the first thirty seconds, I rounded the corner onto Meridian Street and went straight up onto the curb. 

And from that moment forward, my instructor never unclenched his fingers from gripping the dashboard as long as I was behind the wheel. He made use of the emergency brake more with me than any other driver. I rarely made a decision he agreed with, and I'm guessing he only granted me the driving waiver so the BMV people didn't have to experience what he did.

And that's how I came to really dislike driving. From the time I got my license until I was a junior in college, I never drove on an interstate. Not once. 

For the entire four years I commuted to Fort Wayne and back every day, I still had to frequently pray my way through the interstate. I often ditched it and took a longer way home just to avoid clenching my jaw and forgetting to breathe. 

I'm grateful Ryan enjoys driving, and he does it always - unless he's sleepy. Then I take over. I'm really grateful Justine likes driving, so whenever we're on duty together, she can take that task, and I take something else.

Winter has arrived here just like it's probably arrived wherever you are. I've already offered to pull shoveling duty in exchange for driving duty. 

So what about you? How was your first driving experience? Do you like driving or would you rather have a chauffeur?

PS - I read this to Ryan, and he wants you to know he could not get his license fast enough. Apparently all that farm equipment training paid off for him, and he was ready. He went the first day he was eligible and has loved driving ever since.