I took Madi to the DMV last week to get her Learner's Permit. This is the third potential driver for Steve and I. It's kind of like potty training our kids--it's yucky to go through, but the Independence and freedom it brings to both the child and the parents is fantastic! A few evenings after Madi received her permit, Steve and I were talking about cars and what to do next year with two kids driving to school. I couldn't even believe we were having the conversation in the first place, because it seemed like a pretty easy slam dunk solution to the "problem" was to utilize the great little service offered by the school district, called the SCHOOL BUS.
"Why can't Madi just take the bus to school?" I asked. Steve's reply: "Kelsey and Markelle didn't have to.'' Well, their situations were different, and it required either allowing them to drive or having me act as their personal driver, and quite frankly the 6:00 a.m. tumbling classes was not something I really wanted to be getting up for. The same goes for twice daily trips up to the DATC in Kaysville for Markelle's Cosmetology class. In my mind, Madi could ride the bus like everyone else, or bum rides off of friends like some of the kids in the neighborhood.
But then I got a phone call from a friend who had a daughter leaving on a LDS Mission and needed to sell her car. I went up to take a quick look at it, drove it around the block, and after seeing the price, I HAD to have this car! It was a screamin' deal! I told her I would take it--I gave her a check, she gave me a key and a title and off I drove, into the...well, not sunset, but it felt like it: liberating and free, spontaneous, adventuresome and a little scary. I BOUGHT A CAR! All by my little ol' self. It's cute, too. I drove it home and parked it. I drove it around on my errands and filled it's little tank with gasoline. I did not say a word to any of the girls. When they got home, they all wanted to know who was visiting. When I told them that I bought a car, they immediately insisted that we needed to drive down to Pace's Dairy Ann to get some onion rings and a Coke. Then we had to drive around Bountiful. Markelle and Madi took turns driving the car and they fell in love with it. Then the questions started: who gets to drive the car? I demurely deflected the question--we'll deal with that in November when Madi gets her Driver's License and we will then have FIVE drivers in the family! (and my husband is an insurance agent, so he knows EXACTLY what that means!)
