When I try to learn something new, my goal is always to get better at that thing. I just turned fourteen and started driving recently and have since been driving every chance I get. So one morning while we were staying in the North Shore, I was woken up by my dad’s words: “Get up, Mckinley, you’re driving.” I got out of bed, still half asleep, but super pumped to get to drive. Seven in the morning is early in the summer! I slid a warm jacket and comfy shoes on, grabbed the keys to our new silver suburban, and hopped into the car. While I was waiting in the car for Dad, my great aunt, Maureen, came in front of the car and nonverbally asked if I was driving. (I later [while driving] demonstrated to my dad what she looked like up there in front of me). It made me laugh! Dad joined me in the car and we took off. We drove all around the back roads and dirt roads in the area we were in, and ended up on a lone, smooth road away from the “city” part of our area. We were able to just cruise for a while talking and working on skills and it was relaxing and fun. I told my dad about his mom’s (my grandma’s) love of certain purple flowers we kept seeing on the side of the road. We decided to grab a bouquet of them right as we came up to a bridge that we decided to go over. The river was so pretty under it. We turned around and went to a spot packed with those flowers. We picked a few pretty ones and were on our way back to the cabin for flapjacks. We saw wildlife the whole way there and back. I spotted butterflies and bunnies all over the sides of the roads and on the way back I watched a deer with a death-wish cross the road right in front me. (I stopped for it). And I was half asleep the whole time so it was all very dreamy. It was a great driving lesson from my dad and I learned a lot. Next time, though, I would like if we could go a little later in the day. 😉
Where did you learn to drive and how old were you?