Takin' It To The Street

Today was THE DAY.  After yesterday's session with Older Daughter behind the wheel of her little car, we left it parked outside the driving school's office. This morning, I took her back there at 8:00 so she could register for the road test, and then drove back to work.

Ten minutes later, she called to say that a) the insurance card in the glove box was expired, and b) they wouldn't let her take the test in the sandals she had on.

It's always something.

I called Big Insurance at their home office in the Midwest, and explained the insurance card issue. They e-mailed me the current coverage within minutes - score one for technology! - and I faxed it to the office where Daughter waited. Then I drove home & retrieved a pair of shoes, took them to her & came on back to my office again.

Less than 30 minutes later, she called a second time. "Dad, one more request: I need you to drive me to the DMV so I can pick up my license." 

(Cue "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" or something!)

I took her there, waited for the 45 minutes or so that seems to be the standard waiting period. She came out with license in hand, and I drove her back to her car, and bid her a not-quite tearful farewell as my eldest set off in her newly-acquired freedom to come and go as she pleases.

To pay us back for all the hours spent riding shotgun as she learned, she announced her intention to go buy lunch & deliver it to us at our respective offices.  Now all I have to do is try not to bite my nails thinking about her driving by herself.

You never get over being concerned for your children, but merely exchange one set of concerns for another.

Another Driving Lesson

Just completed another stint with older daughter driving around a large parking lot; it's her first time in the "new" little car we fixed up for her. Another session like tonight's and she'll be ready to take to the streets. Live in fear, Anchorage!

The wind is still blowing stiffly, causing snow to drift across the roads. Not in large measure, mind, but still noticeable. At one point, daughter's tire tracks had nearly filled back in by the time we drove to the end of the 400' lot, turned around and came back. 

Speaking of the weather, AccuHunch is calling for single-digit highs & sub-zero lows all week, and more snow by the end of the week. The wind is supposed to slack off, overnight, but we've been dealing with wind chills of -20 or colder all day today.

It's good to be back indoors.

As an aside: anybody who tells you "it's too cold to snow" at whatever temperature has never been to Alaska. It snows here whenever it wants, and we've seen snow when it's nearly 40 outside (doesn't last long), as well as at -27. And that's just in Anchorage. At those low temps, it's mostly just a constant shower of tiny little glistening ice crystals. But it can keep that up all day long.

And now it's time to put my feet up & read something.

This Old Car: the Side Story

Since we're having the "new" small car made ready for the girls to drive, that will require that they be legally able to do so.

It may be surprising to some, but what is not unusual up here is that Melanie (age 22) does not have a driver's license. It's fairly common in Anchorage, although that seems foreign to me. When I turned 16, I couldn't wait to get my license. I took the driving test on my 16th birthday, in fact. Didn't do all that well, because I hadn't been behind the wheel in several months, but I took it.

A number of acquaintances here have related to me that their old-enough-to-drive offspring haven't been in any rush to do so. Mel works two blocks from home, and usually walks to work. She has also been known to call me late at night when a blizzard is in progress at quitting time, and ask me to come get her.

She's about to learn that it takes longer to clear all the heavy snow & get the vehicle ready, than it does to just hoof it that relatively short distance. On the other hand, when it's -27 with a wind chill of -40 or colder, having Dad show up with a half-warmed up SUV seems like a pretty good thing.

I guess I can't blame her for that, come to think of it.

The point of this post, however, is that now that a car is in the works, she's anxious to get that license. We spent an hour tonight, circling the parking lots at the property I manage. It has been over a year since the last time she drove, and the beginning was predictable: jerky and spasmodic. Things calmed down pretty quickly, and her movements became much smoother, as I expected. Since it was dark, she had a bit of trouble seeing where the car should be, judging only by stripes on the empty lot, but was making remarks about "I'm a little too far over" or "should have cut that turn a little sharper" by the end of the hour.

An awareness of the car's position relative to the road is a good thing, and a thing that many experienced drivers don't seem to yet have. Mel's becoming aware of her position already, after just an hour of practice, so that's a real good first step.

And I needed neither tranquilizers nor liquor when we were done. (grin)  That's a very good thing.