On Saturday morning, I had my first driving lesson. I was a little (okay, very) nervous because I have never driven a car by myself AND road rules are a jumble in my brain.
Once my teacher showed up, I did an inward sigh (she was the one who kept calling me “Precious” before). When I tried to tell her that I had never driven before, she sort of hushed me. (I don’t like being hushed!) Then, she proceeded to be the best possible instructor for me (better than I could have ever imagined!).
She was very thorough, calm and patient. She literally took me from point “A”. (I think that the only thing that I knew how to do was to turn the key in order to start the car!) Once I had become familiar with all of the controls, it was time to drive. I wondered aloud where we would go to drive and she said we’re going to drive up and down the street that we were already on. “What?!” I screamed (inside my head, not out loud). There were all of these cars driving by, delivery trucks double-parked, etc. Then, I just accepted it. If I can learn to drive in Manhattan, I’ll be able to drive anywhere! (I was also a little more secure because she had a brake on her side of the car too!) “How will they know that I’m a student driver?” I asked. “Oh, that big “Student” sign in the back of the car…okay”. She warned me that people would still probably beep their horns and pass me by (they did!) sign or no sign.
Anyway, I survived (and so did everyone else – that was my prayer that morning). I drove up and down several streets; rode around double-parked cars and vans; did a few turns and before I knew it my hour lesson was over. The truth is that I think that I’m really going to like driving once I’ve had more practice. Right now, I’m very tense when I’m driving, so the steering wheel feels really heavy. Also, I still don’t think that I’ll be doing a lot of city driving in the future. (Every time I got in the groove – speed wise and centered in the lane, there was a stop light and then I’d have to stop and start all over again! That’s pretty nerve-wracking to me.) Who knows what the future holds though? I’m just happy that the journey has begun. (Now all that I need to do is get a brake installed on the passenger side of our car so that my husband can prevent accidents when I’m driving….just kidding!)