Driver of the Year

Both Tabitha and Adam have their learner permits and Darrin and I are a little stressed about it. Sadly, Tabitha is a natural when it comes to driving--so she often becomes too relaxed, forgets to pay attention and begins to stray into lanes best left to oncoming traffic. Adam, on the other hand, is tense to the point of seeing nothing and has nearly killed me more than once. I also have a permanent case of whiplash thanks to his braking skill. The parents may not survive this chapter of life.

Yesterday, however, Tabitha earned a standing ovation from me. We were at an intersection and the light was red. There was a large truck in the left-hand turn lane beside us. The light turned green and Tabitha eased into the intersection, proceeding as she should, in a straight line. The truck next to us decided it needed to go straight, as well, and came right into our lane. Tabitha avoided the truck while I yelled pointlessly at it, but it still didn't notice it was shoving her off the road. My daughter continued to calmly avoid the other vehicle while I reached across her and pushed the horn down on the steering wheel, finally gaining the other driver's attention while Tabitha giggled at me.

The truck's brakes squealed, Tabitha drove calmly off the sidewalk and onto the road, grinned at me and said, "That was funny when you honked the horn."

By the time school let out that afternoon, Tabitha had forgotten the incident completely. I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but I'm very glad we didn't die.