Ben now has a driving permit!
He turned 15 1/2 last week. At that age his school provides paperwork allowing students enrolled in a future driver’s education course to get a permit.
Ben went to get the paperwork the day he turned 15 1/2 and asked if we could go to a driver’s license facility first thing Saturday. He spent his free time last week reading the Illinois Rules of the Road. In order to get a permit you have to pass a written test based on that book.
He was nervous about the written test but it turned out to be easy for him. By 9 a.m. Saturday he was the excited owner of a driving permit. As I expected, he was ready to find an empty parking lot on the way home and have his first driving experience. The weather wasn’t great – it was lightly raining – but he wasn’t going to let something like that put him off.
We found one and he drove around it for a while, nervous and thrilled at the same time. Then I drove back closer to home and he drove the last half mile or so on side streets.
An hour or so later Ben was going over to a friend’s house, so he drove there. In the afternoon we needed some groceries so he drove to the store and back.
Yesterday I took him out driving for an hour in the morning. We found another empty parking lot where he could practice going backwards. In the afternoon we wanted to go to an office supply store (our favorite family stores are office supply stores and bookstores) so he drove there and back.
I was surprised I wasn’t more nervous last week, knowing I’d be taking him out driving in a few days. I did wonder if I’d freak out after one driving experience on ‘real roads’. But it’s going ok. West, who came grudgingly along on some of his driving expeditions because she wanted to go to the stores, probably would say I am quite nervous enough. But I thought it might be worse. I suppose it’s all relative 🙂
Today I’m planning to meet him in the car after school, a couple of blocks away, so he can drive home. I’d like him to get as much practice as he can before winter sets in and makes the roads much more difficult. Today’s weather is a reminder that winter is just around the corner: the high will only be in the low 40s (fahrenheit) with possible snow showers.