Yikes. The kid is driving for the first time by herself today. She decided to drive to school this morning…in the dark…with it misting slightly…I saw deer this morning!!! Yikes! It will be okay right? Moments like this are when it is tough to be a dad. It is out of my hands. I hate that! My little girl is growing up but man it is tough to let go. But I know she is a smart kid and a cautious driver…but still am nervous!!!
You’re this guy, aren’t you?
Relax. She’s not driving by herself. She has your voice in her head all the way. Every gear change, every lane change, checking her rear view, checking her speed.
You did a good job.
She’s fine. You did a wonderful job teaching her.
I lived through hair-raising left turns across oncoming traffic, stress attacks in the middle of busy intersections, and the lot of it. And then it came time when she had to go out on her own.
It isn’t easy, no. And someday you may get the call I received last year around this time (though I’d not wish it on you). A panicked girl frantically calling because she was just t-boned when turning left across traffic (and failing to yield).
sigh Some things they just have to learn on their own. But she’s a good driver overall, and now much more cautious about left turns.
There are bumps in the road ahead, my friend. The first ticket, the first fender bender, whatever. But we all have those, and they helped make many of us better drivers. It’ll all be okay.
You did well.
Well she made it! She forgot to shut the garage door, pulled off into a parking lot and called me, so she had to go back and shut it. But she did that, and made it to her friends house.
Where we live she is on the bus for an hour, whereas it is a 15 minute drive. Our house is one of the last stops on the bus, so I can see her desire to drive and frankly I am happy for it as it makes my life overall easier.
But it isn’t easy emotionally! But she made it and intellectually I knew she would as she is a good driver.
And **muldoonthief ** I am that guy totally–very few commercials capture the emotions I think like that one does!
I hear ya Hakuna Matata. I was such a nervous wreck with my daughter when she first got her license. Poor girl, I bought her the ugliest, biggest tank of a car for her first one. She had to be embarrassed to drive that monstrosity. But, I worried a lot less.
It does get easier. I only worry every other day now. 
We’re in the prep stages right now. License and solo flight comes in a few months but I’m already losing what’s left of my hair.
The father in the commercial is the real life dad to both girls.
At least my Dad couldn’t blame baldness on that, he’d been bald forever. I’m sure he had his share of waking nightmares, though.
Yes, it is tough “letting go.” But that “letting go” is part of raising kids to responsible adulthood. Relax, and think about what a great job you did teaching your child to be that responsible adult you want her to be.
(Most parents do survive the growing up of their children. I did, you will.)
And the older one is some kinda beautiful!
Ducati Jr. has been driving for almost a year. He’s an a-typical 17yo boy, because he doesn’t speed or drive crazy like I did. How do I know?
He’s got something similar to this. It’s really not for me to spy on him; like mine, it’s just there to be a silent witness should something go wrong. I’ve only pulled the card and looked at his driving twice in the last year. He’s doing well. Fear is a wonderful tool!
Here’s his first close call. He told mom, but didn’t want me to see the tape, because he thought he’d get in trouble for his language.
I’m not recommending going all Big Brother, but when something happens, it’s always he said-she said. The responding cop will make a decision based on experience or instinct, but they’re not always correct.
If you taught her well, and she’s a good girl, she’ll do OK.
yep, she sure is!
And ya know what? Tommorrow, she’s gonna drive for the second time.
And then–gasp!!–a third time!
And then…she’s gonna drive off to college.
And, believe it or not, in a few years she’s gonna drive to a bridal gown shop.
And a few more years, and she’s gonna drive to the maternity-wear dept.
And then she’s gonna drive to your house… along with the world’s cutest grandkid!
Enjoy the drives!
Lol, my dad and mom couldn’t get me out the door to the DMV fast enough to get my license so I could drive on my own. A lot of 16 year olds can’t wait to get their hands on a license to get some “freedom,” but I put it off as long as they would possibly let me before the hassling got to be too much for me to bear. The first time I drove myself away from the house, I bet my dad was screaming YES, FINALLY! Funny how different our experiences can be…
I couldn’t wait to get my license either! The day I got my permit, I drove my dad home from the DMV and took off to show off the car and my driving skills to my friends. My parents told me “be home by 1”, and I let them know in not-so-polite terms that that wasn’t going to happen as 1) they didn’t give me that curfew on the weekends before I got my license (“so you care more when the car gets home than when I do?!”) and 2) my brother had never had such a restriction put on him when he got his license and I wouldn’t accept the double standard.
Amazingly, they let it drop.
Don’t get me wrong. I “want” her to be driving. It will very much improve my life and open my evenings up. It is just scary. But she went to school and back today and I asked her about it and she said it wasn’t as scary as she thought it would be. So she was as nervous as I was! But we both knew she could do it and though I am still nervous about her driving. But I know today was the big day and I am very proud of her. Nervous but proud. Guess Hakuna Matata has at least some worries!
The key to my “new” car came with a grocery list.:o
As always, I don’t doubt Hakuna Matata’s daughter, I only doubt the other mouth-breaking idiots on the street.