Driving Miss Ashley

As many of you have probably heard, Ashley now is the proud owner of a shiny new learner's permit. Let me say -- it's very scary!!

The first day out she either took 500 feet to come to a complete stop or gave us whiplash. She kept using her left foot on the brake. She also freaked out and screamed when she saw a moving car on the other side of the parking lot.

It's now a few weeks later and things have improved somewhat. However, Travis and I are tense and scared the whole time. We've progressed to cruising Main Street in Farmington and Centerville. She thinks she's ready for the highway -- but, I think not.

Ashley tends to hug the right side of the road because she can't gauge how close she is to the center line. She sometimes turns wide into oncoming lanes. She either goes too slow or has a lead foot. She complains that I make her stay 4 seconds behind the vehicle ahead of her (I keep explaining that it's because she has slow reflexes.) She still has to think about which pedal is the gas and which is the brake. She complains when I grab the steering wheel. She still flinches at oncoming traffic -- but at least she now keeps moving.

But I think the scariest part of this whole experience is that I still have 3 more children to go.