November 17, 1999
DOWN HOME:
What's better than turning
16 and getting to drive?
___The greatest moment of the 20th century has arrived.
___Well, OK, you and I might not rank it up there with V.E. Day and the first moonwalk, but Lindsay sure does.
___Our darling eldest daughter, our firstborn, our precious treasure just turned 16. You know what that means: She got her driver's license.
___Lindsay can't imagine it, but I relate to her excitement infinitely. Seems it's only been atrip around the block since I turned 16 and got my license.
MARV KNOX
Editor
___She's already done better than I did when I was her age. Due to a slight misunderstanding, I flunked the parallel parking portion of the driving test.
___Talk about embarrassment. I just knew everyone in school knew I went for my driving test that sunny fall morning. And returning without a license was pure agony. To make matters worse, I had to wait a whole week before I could take the test again.
___You know what I did every evening that week. Suffice it to say, I'm a whiz at parallel parking 27 years later.
___After I got my license, I was certain my driving skills matched Mario Andretti's. With a license in my hip pocket, I believed I could drive anywhere wheels would roll. Imagine a 16-year-old's consternation when Mother and Daddy refused to let me drive to Amarillo (125 miles) a few weeks later.
___I remember those moments and many more, and I've lived them again the past few months, as Lindsay has practiced driving and pointed out every Volkswagen Beetle on the road, all in anticipation of The Big Event.
___This time, however, my emotions have been decidedly mixed. Of course, I'm proud and excited for Lindsay. Life is wonderful when you're 16 and have access to a car, even if it's the family sedan. And I'm also grateful to lighten my load of taxi service and family errands.
___But as a parent, I've found that my anxiety level has escalated in direct proportion to Lindsay's excitement. I've seen too many accidents caused by good but inexperienced kids who exercised poor judgment.
___Interestingly, I'm not worried about the same things I thought would bother me. I'm not anxious about her driving too fast or tailing other vehicles too closely. I'm more concerned that she'll have the boldness to step on the gas when she has to merge with traffic and the wisdom to be patient when other drivers act like idiots.
___We'll still drive together, and I'll keep on giving advice until she thinks her ears are running over.
___At times like this, I get a glimpse of what God must feel like, giving us freedom to drive out on the road of life, with all its obstacles and opportunities for accidents. Yet God loves and trusts us enough to grant that freedom.
___Thank God for freedom, and God bless all the young drivers.
_
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