First of all, any car with a name like "spider" doesn't exactly conjur up thoughts of teenage girls driving safely and sanely down the road at slightly under the posted speed limit.
Secondly, unfortunately for Daughter #3, the parents in this household have learned a thing or two from Daughters #1 and #2.
When Daughter #1 (aka Nutella) approached driving age I believe we were in our 30's.....pretty smart about just about everything in life (really......I think we actually said that!). We did our research and came up with a little "contract" for her to sign prior to receiving, and driving, her first car. It covered just about everything.......well, maybe not everything....
Unfortunately, it did not cover any of the circumstances that would result in FOUR, count 'em FOUR, wrecks she would have between age 16 and age 18 when she would (finally) leave our home sans car and go off to college.
She reminds us often that it could hardly be her fault when someone at school drives a monster truck and somehow managed to drive OVER the front of her car which was parked next to him (he said he didn't see it...........no kidding!). Nor, does she think, that it is her fault that she stops at the stop sign leaving school, but the person behind her doesn't, and slams into her, knocking the back bumper off. Likewise the late night accident where she slid off a city street in an ice storm, unhurt, no damage but stuck in a small ditch........then while being towed out of the ditch, a college student came along, made the same mistake she did and slammed into the jeep pulling her out....bounced off and smashed into her car completely totalling it. She has no excuse for the other accident in which SHE was the car that didn't stop in time.
Anyway, after Daugher #1 we modified the car contract ..... for Daughter #2....
1. You MUST park as far from everyone else at school as is possible and still make it to class on time......the extra walking will save you money at the gym.
2. We never thought we'd ask this, but from now on we want you to linger after school (in a non-obvious kind of way so as not to appear suspicious) to make sure you're the LAST kid driving out of the parking lot (okay, if the jocks are practicing you can leave before them).
3. NO passengers in your car for the first six months of driving solo! (Unless it's your sister and then only if she doesn't talk to you).
4. IF you manage to graduate from High School without any accidents (regardless of fault) we will pay for you and a friend to take a trip wherever you choose (I might as well just admit it here that this one was a BIG mistake!!!)
Well, Daughter #2 didn't let us down, she didn't have a single accident, ........not one! We were so proud.......well, sort of. The fact is that although she didn't have ANY accidents she DID have tickets.....several of them. She got tickets for speeding, reckless driving and running stop signs!!!!! (Unfortunately, a contract is a contract and we only specified she remain accident free, so she compromised and went with a friend to Hawaii "on us" instead of France....her first choice!)
You guessed it..... this is daughter #2 in action at the wheel!
Need I say more? Daughter #3, I love you dearly so.......
A. You're not getting a Mitsubishi Spider, but all is not lost...I'm considering a Oldsmobile Delta 88.....nice, sensible and reliable (also made of real STEEL, not fiberglass......TAKE THAT MONSTER TRUCKS!)
B. You'll get a trip too, but only if you never get a ticket OR have an accident and then only to a location somewhere in the lower 48.....
C. No passengers until you turn 21 (unless it's your mother).
D. You may drive to school but only if you park in the teacher's parking lot next to that really old lady that teaches science.....
E. A car is not a toy so we won't expect to see you enjoying it too much.....
Parting thought..............Yup, it's probably a really good thing we don't have a Daughter #4
Sure Love Ya!
5 comments:
Wow! You sent your daughter to Hawaii! Jealous! And just for the record, Nutella is a great driver! We only got pulled over once when I was with her--she forgot to signal when changing lanes on the freeway. But it totally wasn't a big deal. The cops were jerks. One of them told me to tell the other cop that we had pot in the glove compartment! In Provo! Crazy. Anyway, I hope Nutella doesn't mind that I told you that story! She's a great driver! And I sure D#3 will be too!
Suzie Q, I can only assume that your influence made her into a better driver....that and the fact that she grew up! We love her to pieces but boy oh boy did she give us some gray hairs! : )
HAHA...mom! thats sooo funny! and for the record...speeding...its a hard thing to overcome. I still defend that i was only "going with the flow of traffic.."
and..that sweet picture of Ash and I was just to be goofy. But it makes one wonder...who was taking the picture? (eek!)
Oh, man...the things we learn from our kids. And over time. Being as old as dirt, I should be smarter than Einstein. How did that not happen?
Aren't kids fun? Grammy and I have 4 daughters and a son. No wonder my hair is grey.
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