The Driving Dilemma

While September 11th is a day of reflection on a national tragedy for most Americans, Sept. 11. 2008 was a day of great joy for Jake. He officially turned 151/2 ...and that means he can get his learners permit. For me, that's a scary thought. I don't want my baby in control of a very big piece of machinery and driving with all the crazies on the road. But I put my fears aside and took him to the DMV on the exact day he turned 151/2. Jeff and I had both told him he needed to study, be he figured the drivers ed class he took in June was good enough. Well, it almost was...he missed one too many questions. Needless to say, he was a little disappointed (some kicking of a cup full of soda left in the parking lot by another DMV patron was involved) Here he is taking his test...

So we went home and I said, "Now are you going to study?" And he said, "I don't need to study now, I know what it's like" So we went back the next day and this time he passed! Yeah! So we got our little ticket and waited like an hour for them to call our number. Finally, our turn came, so we go up to the counter and she has him take the vision test...Guess what. He didn't pass the vision test.(I think it was mostly due to a combo of grumpy employee and teenage mumble syndrome) So we left again. "Is there another test I can fail?" he said. "Only the driving test" I said. Home again empty handed. Off to the eye doctor...he passed just fine, so I had him fill out a form and we headed back to the DMV. So after a week he finally has his learners permit. And I couldn't bear to let him drive home from the DMV. Couldn't toss him into the sharks right away...maybe someday we'll actually let him drive.