One Step Closer
In Maryland, the earliest you can get your learners permit for driving is 15 years 9 mos. For Zoë, that was yesterday. She has been determined to get hers exactly on that date for a while now. We pointed out that her spring break trip through Europe didn't get her home until the 24th, and a jet-lagged, no sleep kid is not necessarily going to do her best. She insisted.
We got to the MVA, and it was packed. We spent an hour in line, and then were told that we were likely to be there another 5 hours, and anyone who wanted could break out of the line and make an appointment for later. Zoë was wishy washy. She was not thrilled about standing in line (we couldn't have made an appointment ourselves, because the MVA doesn't let you make an appointment until you're 15 years and 9 mos old - I consider that an error, but they apparently consider it fine) but she really wanted her learners permit as soon as she could get it. I told her I'd do whatever she wanted. As soon as she heard the earliest appointments available were a week away, she said we were gutting it out. And we did.
5 hours to get the person who checked her paperwork and got her sorted out. Another 30 minutes for the test. She passed! And then while the fellow was putting together her permit, something went wrong and he lost the record. He had to send us back to the beginning. She didn't have to retake the test, but they had to go through and find her record, re-enter a bunch of things, and it took another couple hours. It was positively miserable, and by the end she wasn't even excited anymore.
Now we have 9 months to get the required practice in and to get her driving hours scheduled with the drivers ed people. And she has 9 months to complain about there not being a Jewish MVA where she could get her license when she's 16 and 6 mos (Dec 25).
She's one step closer to being independent. It's really cool and I'm glad she's reaching for it. It's a lot harder to nudge a reluctant kid towards independence, I think, than it is to try and gently rein in a kid who's grabbing for it.
We got to the MVA, and it was packed. We spent an hour in line, and then were told that we were likely to be there another 5 hours, and anyone who wanted could break out of the line and make an appointment for later. Zoë was wishy washy. She was not thrilled about standing in line (we couldn't have made an appointment ourselves, because the MVA doesn't let you make an appointment until you're 15 years and 9 mos old - I consider that an error, but they apparently consider it fine) but she really wanted her learners permit as soon as she could get it. I told her I'd do whatever she wanted. As soon as she heard the earliest appointments available were a week away, she said we were gutting it out. And we did.
5 hours to get the person who checked her paperwork and got her sorted out. Another 30 minutes for the test. She passed! And then while the fellow was putting together her permit, something went wrong and he lost the record. He had to send us back to the beginning. She didn't have to retake the test, but they had to go through and find her record, re-enter a bunch of things, and it took another couple hours. It was positively miserable, and by the end she wasn't even excited anymore.
Now we have 9 months to get the required practice in and to get her driving hours scheduled with the drivers ed people. And she has 9 months to complain about there not being a Jewish MVA where she could get her license when she's 16 and 6 mos (Dec 25).
She's one step closer to being independent. It's really cool and I'm glad she's reaching for it. It's a lot harder to nudge a reluctant kid towards independence, I think, than it is to try and gently rein in a kid who's grabbing for it.