(In case you missed the last post, you can read it here, or not . . . it's a pandemic and you have control over so little - I don't want to be bossy, just so you aren't confused, this took place in August 2019, carry on) . . .
Coach and I arrived home from Greenville on a Monday evening. As soon as I started plotting out the DMV adventure, Tank started to pace. He texted Frank (driver ed teacher), who as Tank anticipated, texted him back to say don’t be scared, just relax and ask questions of the instructor so you know what is expected of you.
Coach and I arrived home from Greenville on a Monday evening. As soon as I started plotting out the DMV adventure, Tank started to pace. He texted Frank (driver ed teacher), who as Tank anticipated, texted him back to say don’t be scared, just relax and ask questions of the instructor so you know what is expected of you.
Tank hoped to make it to a golf practice round for the high school team late morning the next day. My plan included getting to the DMV as early as possible, so the golf thing was a possibility. Let’s be first in line. Get ‘er done! I told Tank I would come home after my early workout class and eat and we would leave by 6:50 am. He agreed but assured me he would not sleep at all the night before.
As we were leaving that morning, I looked over my paperwork. Then I remembered something. ‘Hey, Tank! Don’t forget that paper about your grades that I told you to put in your drawer. Grab it and let’s go.’
Backing up the bus here a bit: in April, Mini came home with a sheet from drivers ed. ‘You have to sign this and then my counselor signs it to say I am not failing in school and I turn it back into drivers ed. Tank probably got one too, and he needs to turn it in too.’ I copied the sheet that she handed me, signed them both, and lined up my two teen wanna-be drivers. I told them to get it signed at school and turn it into drivers ed. Stat. Nodding. Me repeating. More nodding. Me thinking it was done.
Early in the summer I got an email from drivers ed saying Tank never handed in the grade form. Shock. I called the drivers license place and they said he just needed to go get the sheet signed. If they gave me other instructions, I do not recall. This was before we left for Vancouver so it felt like a lifetime ago - from late June until early August.
Mini assured me that Mr. Frank reiterated the importance of that 'good-grades paper' being handed in at the start of each class. Since I am not a drivers ed student, I was not fully grasping protocol with the good-grades sheet. I am letting myself off the hook because me telling him to get the damn form signed is where my involvement ends.
Mini assured me that Mr. Frank reiterated the importance of that 'good-grades paper' being handed in at the start of each class. Since I am not a drivers ed student, I was not fully grasping protocol with the good-grades sheet. I am letting myself off the hook because me telling him to get the damn form signed is where my involvement ends.
So here we were driving 25 minutes to the DMV (in August 2019) also known as the 3rd circle of Hell. I began to suspect that Tank had taken a Lamaze class as he demonstrated deep breathing techniques in the passenger seat. Being the gentle parent that I am (at times), I chose my words carefully and tried to reiterate what Mr. Frank had told him.
Me: ‘Just repeat what they want you to do. Take a deep breath. Getting worked up is going to cause you more trouble. You will do fine. Laddie failed his drivers test the first time but he passed it the next day.’
Me: ‘Just repeat what they want you to do. Take a deep breath. Getting worked up is going to cause you more trouble. You will do fine. Laddie failed his drivers test the first time but he passed it the next day.’
We mostly drove in silence then, because I decided talking was not helping.