Stay off the sidewalks!

I've learned the true meaning of fear.

And it has a face...

Yep, that's Colin. And yep, he's holding a driver's permit. We waited as long as we could...but at fifteen and a-little-more-than-a-half, he won the battle he's been fighting hard since he turned fourteen and the concept was even possible. And so, a couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to let the man-cub wield a heavy piece of machinery in traffic.

And so commenced the driving lessons. Not that Dad hadn't let Colin drive down the back alley and park the car in the driveway, without telling Mom that Driver's Ed had officially started. (Imagine my horror the first time I actually happened to catch one of these sessions in progress.) They'd been doing a little training on the sly as they prepared for the big day. Good Daddy. Save Momma the trauma.

Don't get me wrong. Colin is not a bad driver. Actually, he's a little more cautious than I would have expected, and I appreciate that. But I can still feel my heart in my throat as I sit buckled up to the hilt on the wrong side of my van. And he's learning lots of lessons on taking constuctive criticism from parental figures. Especially since he drove us home from church on Sunday and he had Dad in the front passenger seat, Mom in the back seat, and two sisters next to me all correcting his every twitch and turn. Talk about your backseat drivers! Poor kid. We made it home alive, but he's the one who probably needed Tylenol more than anyone else!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've come to forgive my own father for all the bad jokes...like bringing a broom and hanging it out the passenger window, telling me "I might as well sweep the gutters since we're driving in them anyway." (True story) And driving me to a large corporate parking lot after hours and making me park exactly in the middle of a parking space over and over and over until I got it right several times before I could even get close to a main road and a stop sign. (And this took more than one night, though I think he was just delaying the inevitable.) I understand the panic that comes when you realize your offspring is taking his own life--and others--into his hands.

And now I understand why my mom never had a single moment of driver's ed trauma with me. She was smart enough to leave it to my dad. I don't think I drove her anywhere until I'd had my license for a few months.

So fair warning. Colin's legal, and loose on the streets!

Honestly, though, I think you'll be safe. I'm proud of this kid!