Yes, I am now relegated to the passenger seat of my Ford Focus as Vinny takes the wheel any chance he gets for practice. My 6'1-1/2 (last check, though he's eating like crazy so be prepared for more growth!) son passed his permit test with flying colors. He is very conscious of driving rules while he is driving, and though I have to remind him of a few things, I am confident he will be a good driver.
Today went like this: He had to be at the school at 7:45 for a baseball game that had been rescheduled at the last minute to the town where I work. Nina, as newly appointed co-manager with her friend Brittany, attended the game as well. Vinny didn't feel like driving so early in the morning, so I picked up Brittany and Keith, her brother and starting pitcher, a half mile up the road from our house. I dropped the crew off at school on my way to work.
With the forecast in the nineties, luckily I had some flexibility with my work schedule. I did not want to spend a day out in a boat, and the interns had other work to do. So at 9:00 I was able to take a couple hours off and go to the game, just a few blocks away.
The game didn't go so well for our team. I won't even repeat the score, but Vinny had a couple good plays at first base. After the game I headed back to the office, but soon I got a call from Vinny: the bus would be a while, and he was walking over to my office. His real motive: lunch at Taco Bell! He drove there, of course, ended up driving the wrong way and parking in the Subway parking lot, but as I told him, parking is more complicated than driving.
After lunch I did a few administrative things that needed to be done, then decided to leave work early. As we drove by the ball field, we saw Vinny's coach, Nina, Brittany, Keith, and a couple others still there; apparently they had to wait for a summer school bus to finish a route. So with Vinny at the wheel, we loaded the Focus with one more teenager than it was intended for and headed towards home. On the way Vinny got to experience actually seeing a train up close at a minimally marked crossing (we survived) and driving our road when the grader had been by one side but hadn't come back, leaving a pile of loose gravel in the middle.
I think I felt a few more gray hairs sprouting.
We made it back, and I got to drive Nina to volleyball practice, she and Brittany and two other friends. Somehow the gas gauge registered near empty after that; that seems to happen a lot lately!
Sorry if I'm rambling; this 90 degree weather has me felling a bit crazy. Cooler temps on tap for here tomorrow. That, and I may have to make sure Joe makes it to his saxophone lesson. Following in the footsteps of his brother.
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5 comments:
Congratulations to Vinny! Those Hinckley fast food parking lots are confusing, so don't sweat it. (Good advice for temps in the nineties.) Susan
Ah yes, that is one reason I avoid fast food lunches! I hate driving over to "east Hinckley"!
Congrats Vinny!
Another milestone falls.
Ramble away! I love every word.
I remember those days of new drivers in the household. Lots of anxiety at first, followed by the relaxation of knowing you don't have to drive them everywhere anymore.
Lately the Southern writers (Flannery O'Connor, Tennessee Williams, Faulkner, Porter...) with their characters with heat addled brains from the relentless heat and humidity have been making a lot of sense to me.
So ramble freely! You are doing no worse than the rest of us! ;-)
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