Not the Usual Trip to the Video Store

Chelsea completed her driver's training last Thursday, so I figure that it's a good idea to give her as much opportunity to drive as possible. I hadn't shared this strategy with her when she asked yesterday if I would take her to Hollywood Video. I promptly said I would, quietly grabbed her driver's permit and car keys and headed for the garage with Chelsea right behind me. I immediately headed for the passenger side of the car and the look on Chelsea's face was priceless. "You want me to drive!!!???" I could see the mix of excitement, shock, and nervousness in her eyes. I confidently said, "get in, you're driving." Now my outer confidence was masking sheer terror. I was turning my car, which means so much to me, over to my daughter who means even more. She got in and started adjusting the seat to fit her shorter legs. I thought it would be a good idea to do a test run up the lane next to our house before taking her out into real traffic.

It became immediately apparent that Chels needs some practice with backing up. She hasn't quite grasped which way to turn the wheel. However, the rest of her driving skills are pretty good. She completed the "test run" down our lane and was ready to head off to the video store. She bravely inched her way up to the intersection waiting for the light to turn green. Once the light turned green she gingerly hit the accelerator and was immediately thrilled to see that my car excelerated much faster than the Ford Explorer that she did her training in. I, of course, dutifully told her that just because the car can excelerate fast doesn't mean that she should. She took all of my non-stop instructions very well, much better than I expected. Usually when I try to tell her what to do I get the typical teenager defensiveness, but there was none of that during our short trip to the video store. As we were nearing the video store I commented to her about how special it was to share this rite of passage with her. I think I was more touched than she was. Her focus was on getting us to the store in one piece. I'd like to report that she was successful in doing so.