we went to try and sell our car. its an old car that not many people are interested in buying, so we went a bit of a distance to do so. now, this was an experience.
in anticipation of the car being bought, we took two cars. dh drove one. i drove the other. so, if we did sell the car, the second car would be there to drive dh (and me) back.
let me preface this by saying, i dont like to drive. i mean, i used to. i used to love to drive. especially highway driving, when there are few cars on the road and the radio is playing songs i like. i found it very relaxing in days gone by. but nowadays, with a stressful job, i just dont want to add the stress from driving.
i recall, when i first got my driving license, i was thrilled. what freedom that is for a teenager. no longer dependent on my parents to get where i needed to go. its great. plus, i already had a car. my parents looked for it, but i paid for it. i cant recall what kind it was, but it was old. and big. it was a 1962. it was like a tank, black on the outside, red on the inside.
it had taken me a really long time to learn to drive. at first i couldnt even hold the car straight. my father, brave man that he was, took me on the highway. i was scared to death. i was driving about 20 mph. he said, "step on it,", so i got up to 40pmh. (oh, god!!). so for 7 miles, i drove at that speed. and when i was finished, my foot really hurt. (its funny, nowadays, i can go months and months, maybe even years, without driving, and when i do drive, no matter how long it is for, my foot never hurts.) my grandfather used to take me to a parking lot and let me drive. i kept forgetting which pedal was which, so when there was a woman in front of us, i went to brake, and, well im sure you figured it out. i can still recall the shocked expression on that poor woman's face.
i realized that i finally was driving well, when my nervous mother, who was driving with me, closed her eyes as i drove. and no, she didnt do it out of fear. she was trying to show me she had confidence in me. and i was thrilled. i had taken four driving lessons and the interesting things about that was, after the last one, the teacher advised me not to take the test unless i felt confident about passing. he said that because i had difficulty with his car. what he didnt take into account was that i was used to my car, and wasnt adept enough to easily get used to a different car, since i was such a driving novice. how stupid could he have been. he knew i was practicing while away from him. really!!! the lessons were helpful in certain ways, however. they did tell me to make sure to use my hand signals. (this was in spring. do they expect you to use them in the winter?) and to make sure i looked back when pulling away from the curb.
i took the driving test with the car i already owned. it was a warm day. it was given by an older man. my mom and a friend accompanied me. my biggest concern was parking. (and to this day, i still have some difficulty with that.) i was told to park behind a small car. i must say, i dont think i ever parked better. i was so proud. when i pulled away from the curb, i first turned the steering wheel all the way to the right, as i had been taught. but had a bit of difficulty getting control of the car after that. i thought that might have failed me. my moms friend said the man gave her a smile, which she interpreted as meaning i passed. well, i dont know if she was correct about that, but i did pass. first time too. i was very proud. but i digress. and you must be used to that by now.
in anticipation of the car being bought, we took two cars. dh drove one. i drove the other. so, if we did sell the car, the second car would be there to drive dh (and me) back.
let me preface this by saying, i dont like to drive. i mean, i used to. i used to love to drive. especially highway driving, when there are few cars on the road and the radio is playing songs i like. i found it very relaxing in days gone by. but nowadays, with a stressful job, i just dont want to add the stress from driving.
i recall, when i first got my driving license, i was thrilled. what freedom that is for a teenager. no longer dependent on my parents to get where i needed to go. its great. plus, i already had a car. my parents looked for it, but i paid for it. i cant recall what kind it was, but it was old. and big. it was a 1962. it was like a tank, black on the outside, red on the inside.
it had taken me a really long time to learn to drive. at first i couldnt even hold the car straight. my father, brave man that he was, took me on the highway. i was scared to death. i was driving about 20 mph. he said, "step on it,", so i got up to 40pmh. (oh, god!!). so for 7 miles, i drove at that speed. and when i was finished, my foot really hurt. (its funny, nowadays, i can go months and months, maybe even years, without driving, and when i do drive, no matter how long it is for, my foot never hurts.) my grandfather used to take me to a parking lot and let me drive. i kept forgetting which pedal was which, so when there was a woman in front of us, i went to brake, and, well im sure you figured it out. i can still recall the shocked expression on that poor woman's face.
i realized that i finally was driving well, when my nervous mother, who was driving with me, closed her eyes as i drove. and no, she didnt do it out of fear. she was trying to show me she had confidence in me. and i was thrilled. i had taken four driving lessons and the interesting things about that was, after the last one, the teacher advised me not to take the test unless i felt confident about passing. he said that because i had difficulty with his car. what he didnt take into account was that i was used to my car, and wasnt adept enough to easily get used to a different car, since i was such a driving novice. how stupid could he have been. he knew i was practicing while away from him. really!!! the lessons were helpful in certain ways, however. they did tell me to make sure to use my hand signals. (this was in spring. do they expect you to use them in the winter?) and to make sure i looked back when pulling away from the curb.
i took the driving test with the car i already owned. it was a warm day. it was given by an older man. my mom and a friend accompanied me. my biggest concern was parking. (and to this day, i still have some difficulty with that.) i was told to park behind a small car. i must say, i dont think i ever parked better. i was so proud. when i pulled away from the curb, i first turned the steering wheel all the way to the right, as i had been taught. but had a bit of difficulty getting control of the car after that. i thought that might have failed me. my moms friend said the man gave her a smile, which she interpreted as meaning i passed. well, i dont know if she was correct about that, but i did pass. first time too. i was very proud. but i digress. and you must be used to that by now.
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