Future Maria Andretti?

When I was 16, I got my driver's license. I still had my paper license, when I had my first wreck. In my mother's Lumina, I pulled out in front of a very big white van (mistaking the gas for the break...oops.) The Lumina was totalled and, I could see it, so was my future in driving....

Fast forward.....

At 17, I tried to back out of a neighbor's driveway. This particular neighbor owned the local Golden Chick. He had a delivery van with a gigantic yellow chicken on top.....I mean....really gigantic! When he honked the horn, it made a clucking sound. So as I tried to back out, I BARELY scraped the chicken van. For the next 3 weeks of my high school career, I was subjected to walking down the hall while listening to clucking sounds behind me. (thanks friends). By the way. The stupid van was not running and WAY to close to my car....but I guess that part was lost in the translation.

Fast forward.....

At 18, I was off to college. My parents made me "practice" driving back and forth to Ft. Worth which was the location of my now alma mater, Texas Wesleyan University. I was none to happy but I complied most of the time. (Although, I am still a little bitter about being made to practice changing lanes with my dad.....for a solid 30 minutes on Hwy 287). They had good intentions because growing up in Mexia, Texas, I had never driven over 40 mph. 3 weeks into college, my parents bought me a new car. By the time they experienced my "big city" driving, they were impressed! I could change lanes with the best of them and drove over 60! Victory!

Fast forward.....

Emily has a walker here at Kathy's house. I have witnessed this child moving forward and backwards in this thing. She has figured out that she needs just one foot to negotiate a 3 point turn. I am amazed. We might have a decent driver on our hands. I won't have to look pale faced, tense and jamming the invisable brake (like Mom and Dad) when she is 16. Plus, I'm pretty sure that I saw her parallel park her walker earlier.