Driving Mom Crazy

Back in August, Little Girl went through the requisite Driver's Education 30-hour course, a step in that rite of passage known as "becoming a driver".  (Also known as putting the parents in the poor house, with the insurance prices the way they are!)

She passed with a very high grade, and they told us they would call us to schedule her eight hours of behind-the-wheel training.  That, if you look at the calendar, was several months ago.

In the ensuing time, she has worried about forgetting everything she learned and wondered if they would ever get to her.  Last week, during the Thanksgiving break, it was finally time.  Her name was up, and they called me to schedule her "practicum" for lack of a better term.

The weather was awful, and the instructor had her merging on the interstates in wind and rain, among other things.  He noted that she was spot on with everything, and very, very good and cautious.  He passed her, signed all the papers, and we thought we could use the fact that she didn't have school to take her over to the DMV and get her permit.

Unfortunately for us, back in October, the "Gret Stet of Looziana" passed yet another layer of hoops through which to jump.  It seems that now you have to have a piece of paper from your school saying you are in school in order to get your permit.  Thus, during the break, no school, so no way to get said piece of paper.  Blocked by red tape again!  (What in the world i would have done if i were still home schooling, i have no clue.)

On Monday, when i brought her to school, i stopped in at the guidance office to get said piece of paper, to go along with her birth certificate, Social Security Card, the completion certificate from the driving school, and my license, registration of my car and proof of insurance.  Next thing you know, they'll be wanting blood, but please don't suggest it to them.

After school, i picked her up and we went to the DMV for the requisite wait of an hour-and-a-half.  (The only way to get out of said wait is to get there an hour before they open, then you only have to wait in line for an hour.)  The whole time, she was nervous and scared that she wouldn't pass the written exam, as she kept saying she had forgotten everything and wasn't sure she could do it.

The whole time, i told her she would do fine, and she did!  Each of my other three had to take the written test twice (they let you repeat it if you are close the first time, chalking it up to nerves).  She passed on her first try!  Score!

After her test, it hit me -- i now had to come up with cash.  By some miracle (and i believe it was the Good Lord looking out for me), i had tucked some cash in the back of my wallet, and Little Girl had the extra buck-fifty that i was short.  Score again!  No having to pay $5 at the ATM to get $20!

She signed everything, paid for it herself, posed nicely for her picture (although she didn't comb her hair and looks like a ragamuffin), and then proudly drove us home.

For the next six months she gets to drive us everywhere, so she can get a lot of practice in.  Time for mom to be driven crazy again, and i'm loving every minute.


Today is:

Advocate's Day -- India

Day of Remembrance for Bogatir (Great hero) Svatogor -- Asatru/Pagan Slavic Calendar

Fairy and Goblin Taunt-and-Tease Saturnalia -- Fairy Calendar

Festival for Bona Dea -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of chastity, fecundity, the earth, and fertility; a women's festival)

Festival for Serket/Selket -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (scorpion goddess, who healed from their sting; date approximate)

International Day of Persons with Disabilities -- UN

International Day of the Basque Language

Make a Gift Day -- internet generated, and go ahead, 'tis the season

National Apple Pie Day

National Ice Cream Box Day -- internet generated, for those who love ice cream that comes in the rectangular box, and being the first to dig in

National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day -- be grateful you have one

Pompaia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (procession dedicated to Zeus; date approximate)

Reinvigorate Your Brain by Reading Something Day -- internet generated, and good to do every day, don't you think?

St. Francis Xavier's Day (Patron of African missions, foreign missions, missionaries, navigators, parish missions, Agartala, India; Ahmedabad, India; Alexandria, LA; ) related observance
     San Francisco Javier -- Navarre, Spain (special observances)

Takata no Inoko -- Sakurai, Japan (offerings for peace and good harvests)

Telescope Day -- marking its invention by Galileo in 1621


Anniversaries Today:

Illinios becomes the 21st US State, 1818


Birthdays Today:

Holly Marie Combs, 1973
Brendan Fraser, 1968
Katarina Witt, 1965
Daryl Hannah, 1961
Julianne Moore, 1960
Ozzy Osbourne, 1948
Jean-Luc Godard, 1930
Andy Williams, 1927
John Backus, 1924
Carlos Montoya, 1903
Joseph Conrad, 1857
Charles Alfred Pillsbury, 1842
Gilbert Charles Stuart, 1755


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Streetcar Names Desire"(play), 1947
Alka-Seltzer, 1931


Today in History:

Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England, 1586
In an uprising over mining licenses, which came to be called the rebellion at the Eureka Stockade, more than 20 goldminers at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia are killed by state troopers in what many claim to be the birth of Australian democracy, 1854
The trial of Jefferson Davis starts with the first blacks on a US trial jury, 1868
Settlers arrive at Petach Tikvah, Israel, 1878
The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine, 1904
Neon lights make their public debut at the Paris Auto Show, 1910
The Quebec Bridge, after almost 20 years of planning and construction, opens, 1917
The first successful Technicolor movie, "Tall of the Sea," premiers in NYC, 1922
Chinese refugee ship "Kiangya" explodes in E China Sea, killing 1,100, 1948
Paul Harvey begins his national radio broadcast, 1950
At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human, 1967
Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter, 1973
In one of the worst industrial disasters ever, a methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, kills thousands and injures hundreds of thousands, 1984
In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries, not including the US, Russia, or China, sign The Ottawa treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines, 1997
XCOR Aerospace makes first manned rocket aircraft delivery of US Mail in Mojave, California, 2005