Dylan Finally Got His Driver’s License.
Since Dylan first decided he wanted to drive, a lot has happened.
At first, he was determined and frustrated and wanted to drive NOW. He was barely 15 years old, and considered driving to be the most fun he’d ever had.
“I already know how to drive my go cart!” he wailed. “It’s practically the same thing!”
That resulted in us asking him to please slow down, and learn what he needed to learn.
So he took the Driver’s Ed course (required) and enjoyed sitting in the classroom, listening to retired police officers. Interestingly, he stopped asking to drive. In fact, I was afraid his required course would expire without him taking the (also required) three behind-the-wheel sessions.
Many months later, Dylan got his learner’s permit. Blog readers will remember that he slept through his first permit test, and had to set up a new appointment. Once he got there, though, he aced the test pretty quickly.
It took another several months for Dylan to set up appointments for his behind-the-wheel sessions. Finally, he completed those. By that time, he had driven with his parents and his grandparents about a hundred times. He learned how to drive around town, deal with rain and snow on the roads, and keep up his speed – as safely as possible – on the highway.
His only mishap happened during a college visit when we were looking for our hotel and found, instead, a giant hospital complex. While making a three-point turn in the pitch-black autumn night, Dylan hit a two-foot-tall stone wall that even I didn’t see in the rearview mirror. All things considered, this was a minor issue.
It’s been 22 months since Dylan took that classroom Driver’s Ed course. He’s gone from being determined and frustrated and begging to drive… to being respectful and careful and quite mature about the act of driving. He considers it a privilege – HE considers it a privilege – and takes the responsibility of driving very seriously.
On Thursday, at the age of 17 and a half, Dylan finally got his driver’s license. He passed the test on his first try, with only two points subtracted for not remembering what street signs he’d just passed. (ADHD…?)
Two days later, he drove the car to Starbucks. Three days later, he went to visit friends and then drove himself to his own church meeting.
We have talked with Dylan a lot about expectations, and that using the car carries a ton of responsibility to do what he says he’s going to do.
And so far, he’s doing exactly that – and being careful to ask about everything. In fact, he’s acting a lot like an adult.
It’s like a miracle.