Who CAN'T Get a Driving Permit?

Zachary's appointment for his driving test finally rolled around. I was hoping they would call to make him reschedule...preferably sometime year after next. He hasn't been driving much lately...he let his learner's permit expire and didn't want to get it renewed. Guess I can't blame him, why pay for a learner's permit only to have to turn around and pay for a license as well?



I was a little nervous because he's just not that comfortable behind the wheel of a car and I am VERY nervous in the passenger seat next to him.If anyone needs my fingerprints all they have to do is dust my dashboard...there are PLENTY of prints on them.

When we arrived at the DVM I went to the far side of the lot to teach him 'last minute' how to parallel park. He had insisted he didn't need help, even though he has never parallel parked in his life. I was driving (since he didn't even have a learner's permit) and took him through it twice. "I Got It, Mom" was his curt self confident reply.

I drove over to the DMV and parked. Zach , before I had even cut the car off said "How do you turn the headlights on?" That didn't give me much reassurance since every time he went to use the blinker turned the wipers on.

I didn't say anything sarcastic (believe it or not) but simply gave him a run through of the control panel.

When he got in line he had to ask me for his social security number. I have known mine since I was 14...of course I started working when I was 14.

When his number came up on the screen and the woman started to go get in MY car with Zach for his test I bowed my head in prayer. Massey asked me what I was doing and I told her I was just sending up a prayer. I told her I sent up two...one that Zach would pass his driving test and a second that he wouldn't wreck my car.

Massey put it all into perspective when she replied "Look at it this way, if he wrecks your car he probably won't pass his test." I don't know if that made me feel better or worse.

They were gone for what seemed like two hours. I listened for sirens, even peeked out the front windows of the DMV to see if I could see anything.

Maybe ten minutes went by when I saw Zach pulling back into the lot. I told Massey not to look at them when they walked back in..if he had failed it was really going to be blow to him and I wanted to hide my relief.

Can you believe it? They took his picture (after four tries because his greasy stringy hair was in his eyes and obviously they all knew they needed a picture to accurately identify him by at a possible later date.)

As Zach waited for his permit to be printed out, I felt like going up to the woman who had ridden with him and say "You'll give a permit to ANYONE, won't you?"

They should have a huge neon sign out front saying "Stevie Wonder got his license here.!!"

I'll have to admit since he got that little card his attitude and demeanor have totally changed. He is happier than I have seen him in over a year.

One of the dishwashers at work wanted Zach to fill in for him on Sunday and I asked the owners if it was okay. They said for Zach to come in on Saturday night around 8:30, after the dinner crush and learn how to do the job . I told Zach that if he wanted to work in a restaurant...long stringy hair was not an option. The owner's wife told him when we went to eat for Massey's birthday that she had a hair net with his name on it.

I had to go into work at 5 on Saturday and had called Zach all day (he had been with his buddies since school got out on Friday) to tell him to go get a haircut. He balked at my suggestion and I finally told him "Barbara doesn't hire people that look like you do."

He called me back as I was driving to work and said "My friend is going to cut my hair for me, I'll see you at 8:30."

I don't know if that made me feel better or worse...but I just left it in God's hands.

We got POUNDED at work and I was so busy that I didn't realize when 8:30 arrived. The owner Len, came up to me and said "Who's the new kid?" His wife came up to me two minutes later and said she was impressed. I went into the kitchen to see a handsome young man with a short hair cut who resembled the child I had given birth to. Clean shaved, hair one inch shorter than mine and dressed in jeans that weren't low enough to give him a suppository on the fly.

Just when you are ready to give up on your teen...just when you think you can't take anymore of their crap...they suddenly make you proud. They make you realize all your 'supposed' bitching and complaining was really heard and that the mesage finally got through.

You want to join the REAL world? Then GET REAL.

I got off around 11:30 and knew that Zach would be there til well after midnight. Leon, the owner's son said he would give Zach a ride home.

Zach came home and said that Leon had let him drive. I am glad that Leon didn't know Zach got his license from the "Stevie Wonder School of Driving."

My boy made me proud. It's things like that...little things that make it all worth while. You have the good, the bad and the ugly in your life but you have to take it all into it's proper perspective and hope the good wins out.

Tonight it DEFINITELY did !

Til next time...COTTON