Getting things done with a sense of urgency.......needs cooperation

Okay.  So I mentioned I would be teaching Madi how to drive.  No problem here.  I have been an instructor of student drivers many times over in my life (five to be exact) and in my past experience, you get a learner's permit; hit the road a few times (perhaps a poor choice of words); master the obvious and off you go to obtain your very own driver's license at 16.  NOT SO ANY MORE.

Welcome to February, 2013 when this odyssey began.  First, you must apply to become a parent instructor and once approved you choose from a plethora of classes available to you on-line that you may then buy to finally impart this wisdom to your child.  That's fine.  I am still thinking it is more cost-effective and informational than sending Madi to some weekend driving school and spend $800 plus where she may or may not pay attention (I know her attention span and focus).  I get my permission from the Great State of Texas DMV, spend my $120 and quickly download the training materials to work with Madi. 

What we have here is six hours of required on-line instruction (parent MUST instruct) prior to even setting foot in the DMV to get the learner's permit.  Madi had been chomping at the bit to get started so right away we logged our first hour of instruction, duly recorded late February.  Apparently it wasn't as exciting as she had envisioned because our 2nd hour was not recorded until July. (see reference to attention span and focus above)   Keep in mind she turned 16 on July 1st which was her original target date for her provisional license.  After discussion, the collective "we" decided that if "we" got busy, January 1st (or 16.5 years) was now considered an acceptable goal.

Happy New Year!  Time for 2014 resolutions to be discussed.  Now with grave concern on her face, Madi shares with me she has friends YOUNGER than she, that will have their license before she has hers.  I can't help but notice there appears to be some accusation in her expression as I am inwardly reflecting on the many weekends she turned down my lessons for better offers.  Nevertheless, always the diplomat, I suggest that if "we" get busy now, there is no reason "we" can't finish the six hours (only four more to go) and perhaps get that provisional license by 17.

Fast forward to January 16th.  What a day.  We are now at the DMV (thanks to my strict scheduling and forced adherence to same schedule).  At this time I will note this is our second visit.  First visit on January 11th was a failure to launch due to my lack of meeting residency requirements by two months.  I was instructed to provide driving records from my previous state of residency.  Of course when I pointed out I had been approved to teach the class to Madi and shouldn't this have been noted a year ago, I was met with blank stares and repeated instructions.  But I digress....

Giddy with excitement, we are met by a disgruntled looking woman right out of the gate - and we are her first customer of the day.  Madi is the model of southern manners and out of respect for the uniform (okay, name tag and fear of failure) I fall right in line.  Customer service and/or friendliness not required nor encouraged.  I felt that if we could have had protective glass and a phone on either side the atmosphere would have been more conducive.   Following the warm welcome, when she took Madi's picture, she told her specifically not to smile, to push her hair behind her face and when she saw me fixing her with a hard look (Yes, I watch Law & Order) she said, a bit awkwardly, this is for facial recognition.  At that time I was thinking, should she turn for a side shot now because only in a line up would this type of photo be necessary.

Needless to say, her picture looks like a mug shot but she passed the test and she now has a learner's permit.  By July 1st we need to accomplish 32 hours of instructional driving accompanied by I don't know how many hours of on-line lessons that go hand-in-hand with the fun stuff.  Today is February 5th.  Guess how many hours we have done so far?  That's right.......

Plenty of time!

Until next time,

Kari