Ashley had her first driving lesson today and the instructor said she was an above average driver. She said he only had to use the passenger side brake twice which according to his standards is good. My concern is that I don’t have that extra brake and pushing on the floor board as my dad can tell you does not make the car stop. I guess I would not be so worried if I didn’t remember my own first driving experiences. I recall having windshield wipers that didn’t work well so my friend Carol would hang out the window with a towel and wipe the water away. Not exactly things they covered in drivers ed. Then again, I didn’t have drivers ed. My parents were divorced and remarried and my step mother needed someone to drive the five of us to school. So, they took me out on a gravel road until I could stay on one side safely and took me to get a “hardship license”. This was a license designed for farmer’s kids who needed to drive farm trucks and such. Since we knew someone at the license branch my mother convinced them that having five kids was a “hardship” and off I went in my Pinto station wagon with the whole gang. I was in no way road ready but as my friend Jamie used to say I must have had angels on my car. If I did I am sure they peed their pants more than once.

So I guess I should be thankful that Ashley is taking a driving course and that she will be more prepared than I was to drive. I just hope when the angels see my name listed as parent on her guardian application they don’t run and hide.