First Driving Lesson (with Traffic Involved)

Continuing with the series of firsts …

The season premier of Parenthood last night brought back a rather comical memory for me. In the television show, Kristina Braverman takes her 15-year-old daughter, Haddie, out for her first driving lesson. Lots of screaming, commanding and freaking out ensues.

My first driving lesson with traffic involved wasn’t quite that dramatic, but it would had made for funny television. After getting my learner’s permit at the age of 15, my grandpa took me out for my first driving lesson. He chose a dirt road, slid out of the driver’s seat and let me take the wheel. We never encountered any traffic that day, but I learned the basics and Grandpa told my mom he thought I was ready for traffic.

So, one day, my mom and I climbed into her green Pontiac and I backed out of the driveway. We weren’t more than a block from our house when I saw a car coming from the other direction. Until that moment, driving was something adults did. The responsibility of guiding a huge chunk of metal in the general direction of another human being overwhelmed me, and you might say I panicked a wee bit.

“A car!” I said.

“Just stay in your lane,” Mom said. “You’ll be fine.”

“A car!”

“What did you expect to see on the road?”

“I just wish they weren’t on the road. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

The car passed us without incident, but I didn’t relax. I don’t think mom knew whether she should laugh or panic along with me. She probably did both. My eyes and focus were too glued to the road to know how she was reacting.

Along came another car.

“A car!”

And so it went that day.

The next time out, I was a little better. By the third time, I laughed about my first encounter. In fact, I still laugh about my first encounter whenever I’m reminded of it.

How about you? Was your first driving lesson (with traffic) any easier? Or was it similar?

P.S. Last week I told you that one of the reasons I changed the look of Little Nuances was to make it easier to navigate. One of the ways to make it easier is adding tabbed pages (see the top of the blog). Yesterday, I added a new tab called “Series.” On it you’ll find links to many of the series I'm doing.