We Have a Driver!

Back in January we signed Owen up for Driver's Ed with 911 Driving School. I had heard really great things about them from a few friends. They are a little more expensive, but I liked the idea of Owen being taught by Police Officers. They were still doing all their classes virtually. At first I was a bit peeved about that, but honestly with gas as expensive as it is...it was really nice to not have to take him back and forth for 15 classes. 

A week prior to his Driver Ed class starting we went to the DMV to get his permit. It was so easy! I had made the appointment online about a week or two earlier. We went in at the scheduled time. They checked us off at the door. We walked in, got our number and didn't even had to sit down. The moment I turned around to find a seat the number counter switched over to our number so we walked right up. I was floored, but what was even more amazing was the DMV worker was happy! I'll say that again...she was happy! What dimension are we living in where DMV workers are happy?? Praise the Lord! 

I had more than enough paperwork to prove that Owen was in fact Owen. It honestly took less than 10 minutes and he had is paper permit. His actual permit was mailed to us within a couple weeks. Hands down an amazing experience! 

We signed him up for the weekend Drivers Ed classes...those just fit best with our schedule. He was online from 10am - 12:20pm on Saturdays and 1:00pm - 3:20pm on Sundays. His first class was on March 18th. The first class Michael and I had to be present for the first hour or so. I was wondering how they were going to ensure that kids were actual present during the class since most of them turn off their camera and all you see is their name inside a black box. The teacher, Mr. Rick, did 3 different rolls calls during the class. One at the beginning and one at the end, but there was also a surprise one somewhere in the middle of the class and it was never at the same time and if you weren't present for even one roll call you got marked absent for the whole class and had to redo it. I did require Owen to have his camera on at all times though...yes I'm one of those parents. Owen ended up being the only kid with his camera on. At least Mr. Rick could see one of the kids he was teaching! 

The only place Owen could be set up to ensure that he wouldn't be interrupted during class was to put him in our bedroom. We set up a table and a chair and just kept them up the whole time. He had all his notes and papers that I had printed out for him. One day I was cleaning up his area and I noticed he had been doodling on this note paper. 

 

He had drawn a little comic. That's when I noticed a note! 

He knew that I'd look at this notes so he wrote me a note explaining. "I did the comic when it was break time." It honestly warmed my heart to know that he knew I'd be looking. He knew that I would hold him accountable and he wanted to assure me that he was paying attention when he needed to. 

With Owen having glasses it never occurred to me that he'd need prescription sunglasses...duh! Thankfully Michael's insurance pays for one pair of glasses every calendar year. We had just gotten Owen's new regular glasses at the end of 2021, but since it was a different calendar year he was able to get sunglasses! 

He chose these really nice ones that wrap around his face. 

When Michael first took Owen out driving he took him in the truck. He figured if he could learn to drive in the big truck then driving in something smaller would be easier. He's driven the truck a few times, but honestly the van is what he's mostly going to be driving so we mainly just stick with that. Plus the van gets better gas mileage. 

Owen's last class was on Mother's Day. He had to take 4 tests during Driver's Ed. They only require you to pass the last test. I told Owen I required him to pass them all. He passed all 4! :) Because of Covid they are still really behind in regards to getting all the kids their drives. The kids have to had 5 drives with an instructor. I was checking the online system to try to sign up for drives and there never were any. We got Owen's first drive right away, but then it took about 2 months to get his second drive. I finally decided to call and they were able to schedule two more drives for Owen. His last drive is on August 21st. After that he'll be able to take the Written Test and then his Final Drive Test. The best thing is now that's all done through the Driver's Ed place. He doesn't have to go to the DMV for any of that. Once he passes his tests then we just have to wait until he turns 16 and then we go to the DMV and pick up his license. I love that he gets to do his final drive with people he's gotten to know and he knows they want him to succeed. That would have made a world of a difference when I was getting my license. I passed the first time, but still I was terrified and the DMV employee was not nice at all. 

Owen drives us around most places now. He's gotten really good at driving back and forth to church and piano lessons. He's finally figuring out directions a little bit! Michael has also had him drive all the way to Chehalis and back on I-5. He's driven with me a little bit on the freeway as well. He gets the most nervous when we are driving on the city streets during rush hour. Which is totally understandable. 

On Friday, June 3rd....something happened that was good for all the kids to see. We went to Costco to celebrate the last day of school and get pizza for lunch. As I was pulling into the parking spot I heard a small crunching sound. I thought I ran over a water bottle. I got out to find the water bottle, but there was no water bottle. There was a mark on the car next to me though. 

See the whitish line! 

And there were rub marks on the front fender of the van. That had never happened to me before. I'm also really good when it comes to parking. I will run over a curb when pulling out from a parking lot all the time, but I've never clipped a car before. I was so mad at myself. I ran into Costco to pick up the pizza and then I came out and called Michael. I asked him what he thought I should do. I knew what to do, but I think I was in shock. He told me to leave a note or wait until they came out. Since I didn't want lunch to get cold and Logan was on her way to our house I decided to leave a note. The kids had to scrounge around in the van to find a piece of paper and a pencil, but thankfully we found one. I wrote her a note apologizing and I gave her my phone number and our insurance phone number and policy number. 

It was so good for all the kids to see that. Accidents happen...but it's not okay to ignore that it happened and drive away. Later that night I got a text from the lady who owned the car. She really appreciated my note and said that a lot of people would not have owned up to it. She said that since the damage was so minimal...honestly it could probably be buffed out...she wasn't going to submit a claim. 

Honestly I feel like that happened for a reason...all my kids were in the van and they needed to see that even Mom can make mistakes. Maybe this will come to my mind when they come home and say they clipped a car and I'll be more understanding since it's happened to me too!