Don’t believe your teenager — not even for a moment — when she tells you that she knows how to drive simply because she has watched closely how you drive.

I remember thinking how easy driving looked when I was ever the young passenger, and I don’t much remember the first time I drove, probably because by the time I got my permit, I’d had four years’ experience driving my dad’s golf cart and that of my neighbor. It wasn’t street driving, but it sure helped me “get the feel” of it.

Our oldest child got her instruction permit today and our youth pastor’s wife agreed she would take her out in the next few days for some driving practice. I’m not quite certain where I mustered the courage, but when we got home from the Department of Licensing, I suddenly gave my daughter the keys and told her to drive me around the neighborhood. This had not been my plan.

Keep in mind that because her first scheduled driving day in Driver’s Ed is next Wednesday, she has had ZERO time behind the wheel, not even in a golf cart.

I realized how very little she knew about driving. More importantly, SHE realized how very little she knew about driving. But there we were, and I was freaking out. My 13-year-old took pictures and video — okay; memories are good.

My knuckles tingled as the blood was able to circulate through them once we were parked. I am happy to say we did survive the neighborhood excursion.

Mat — aka “Binky,” aka “Wild Youth Pastor Who is Flustered by Nothing” — almost didn’t. He and Liz came by tonight and told Acia to take them for a drive in their car, a stick shift. “Good luck with that,” I laughed. They came back a couple of minutes later to make a go of it with our automatic trannie.

Mat didn’t know she had never driven before today. His exact words were, “I just died a little on the inside.”

So, while it had not been my plan to drive with her today (I guess I hadn’t had any plan), I suppose the funny-memory-loving mom in me decided, without my conscious permission, to go for it. The more I thought about it (after-the-fact), one of her parents should be able to share in the first-time driving experience. I preferred that it would be her very calm and adventurous father, but in his absence, I guess I didn’t have a choice but to participate.

This is one of many milestone-memories I could have kicked myself later for missing. I’m so glad I didn’t have to!

© Alexa Lopez 2008