It's a bittersweet time for me. She is the younger of my two girls, the baby, and in my mind she’s still only five. I find myself regularly asking the question “How can a five year old child be driving a car?”
Around the beginning of December, I signed her up for lessons. I put it off until the arrival of winter because I wanted her to learn to drive with an instructor when the road conditions are at their worst. Because if you’re going to live in Canada, you better be equipped with winter driving skills!
Yesterday, her driving instructor purposefully made her drive through a snowy and slippery road. The car inevitably slid when it hit ice, and she was forced to try and regain control. She did great, she told me, and her teacher praised her calm and excellent handling of the situation.
So this little girl – who is not that little anymore (except in my mind) - is doing very well. The theoretical part of the course was finished weeks ago, and she only has a few more hours of in-car lessons to go.
And speaking of lessons, I think one of them should be this:
That’s right...scraping ice off the windows, and clearing away the snow on a bone-chilling, face-freezing, body-numbing, bitter cold winter day. Because if she’s going to live in Canada, she better be equipped with winter-car-cleaning skills!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
This is a rite of passage! A nerve wracking time. Good idea to have winter lessons.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is a nerve wracking time, but something that needs to get done!
DeleteThis is a milestone indeed!! Like you said, bittersweet though I'm sure. And wow that last photograph is insane.
ReplyDeleteWe get snow like that in Canada!
DeleteYup. First thing I did with each of my two kids, was take them to an open parking lot, and teach them how to skid. And back up. Cleaning a windshield came later. They both love a snow storm, but maybe there's something *not quite right* with that?
ReplyDeleteThey're just not afraid of them, and that's not a bad thing!
DeleteYou're so smart to sign her up for winter driving lessons! When I was 16, I took my lessons in the summer and the driving instructor groped me. I hope he's burning in hell somewhere right now, the old bastard, LOL!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha...yes, that old bastard! I'm surprised you didn't slug him? Or maybe you did :)
DeleteSmart Mama you are Martha! I am sure she will get the hang of winter driving.......particularly this year!! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great year to learn to drive in the winter. We've had a real old-fashioned kind of winter...cold, lots of snow, harsh... I took my lessons during the winter, as well (about a million years ago...haha :) On my last two hours of driving, my instructor took me out during a mini snowstorm!
Deleteholy wow... see? that's wonderful... being taught in the worst weather... outstanding ... exactly and right on ... how to handle adverse situations and be calm... as you well know ... the Southern US is having terrible bad awful weather and we ain't equipped... people move south for no snow ... and especially ice...
ReplyDeleteand as I said on FB ... I remember it well... my little boy off by himself in a car? please ... a teenage boy ... in a car ... the only thing worse would be if he were a little girl going off with a teenage boy in a car ...
LOL ? but my kiddo was/is a great driver ... but he was a teenage boy... know what I mean ~ every wrinkle and gray hair in this old head of mine is directly related to my son....
Hahahaha...that is so funny, Carolyn, about every wrinkle and gray hair being a result of worrying over your kid. I know what you mean!
DeleteLearning to drive when the roads are nasty is very important here. You can't get away from that. Winters are long here, and you need to know how to handle them while behind the wheel of a car.
We can't stop them from growing up, can we? But we can equip them with experiences that allow them to tackle the adult world with confidence! The last picture was hysterical. In the past 48 hours my sister-in-law in Breckenridge has gotten just short of three feet (.91 meters) of snow! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is an insane amount of snow!
DeleteBoth my kids are at that age. It is scary!
ReplyDeleteIt sure is scary! But they have to learn!
DeleteI agree, if you can drive in winter, you can drive in just about any condition. Your pictures are very funny. Love the first one!
ReplyDeleteWe live in an area with long, hard winters, so they have no choice but to learn!
DeleteHey, good point about the digging and scraping. I might have thought twice about buying my first car if somebody had made me dig it out of a snowdrift first! Great cartoons! (And I just know she'll be fine!) :)
ReplyDeleteNo one told me about that either, Francie. One of the biggest pains of owning a car!
DeleteYou are funny. How can a five year old be driving a car.
ReplyDeleteIt just boggles the mind :)
DeleteLearning to drive is a big deal for both parents and kids.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is!
DeleteMy fiancee Daisy's parents unfortunately did a terrible job teaching her how to drive, and if wasn't for me she'd still be stuck with a drivers permit. I didn't like teaching her how to drive, so I just signed her up for lessons.
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Adam! Best thing you could have done for her!
DeleteShe is lucky to have you as a mom, I did the same I had my son drive around in ice.snow conditions in a parking lot where there,s no people or car, it's the best 'cause someone who learns in summer is in for the shock of their lives, good for you, good for her!!!! the jokes are hilarious, thanks for making my day better
ReplyDeleteLearning to drive in the winter is very important. And you are right: someone who learns in the summer is in for the shock of their lives if they've done absolutely no winter driving!
DeleteOoh, definitely a rite of passage! Soon you can send her out to pick stuff up for you lol
ReplyDeleteHahaha...yes, I'll certainly be able to do that!
DeleteI'm getting to be an old fart, learned to drive in Northern Idaho, dad more or less taught us to drive, when I wasn't hot wiring cars to take for joy rides. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't get into too much trouble ;)
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