The daughter wanted a driver’s license in the summer of 2024. She studied the driver’s manual thoroughly and got her driver’s permit. Then she took the mandated five-hour course on August 18th (the date becomes relevant), but there just wasn’t enough time for her to get enough reps to drive, much to her disappointment.
She was away at college in the fall of 2024. During winter break, she drove a bit. But she was in South Africa in the spring of 2025. So she spent a goodly part of the summer of 2025 wheedling her mother to give her opportunities to drive. “Oh, let’s buy the groceries. Let’s go to the farmers’ market. Why don’t we visit Grandma? Let’s go to the whatever. The daughter would drive, and my wife would be in the passenger seat. I generally was home because I hate being in the back seat; it kills my knees.
My wife is a quite good driver but we didn’t know how her teaching the daughter to drive would go. Pretty darn well, it seems.
The test
We all agreed that she should get a professional driver to give her one lesson in case my wife missed sharing something. My daughter tried to schedule it in late July, but the guy postponed it to August 3rd, the day before she would take her driver’s test. This made her anxious. The driving instructor was a little prickly, which put her in a bit of a funk.
She got over it. The next day, she took the driving test in downtown Albany and passed it with flying colors! She really wanted to get the license before August 18 so that she didn’t have to retake the five-hour course.
She doesn’t have a car, though. Well, technically, she does. My wife’s previous car was lent to her niece, Alexa, in New York City. But with expenses for the trip to South Africa and the increase in the money we have to spend for college this coming year, there’s no money to put another car on the road. But, you know, when she graduates next spring and makes oodles of money, she may have a car, albeit used.
For the remainder of August, before she returned to college, she had the “privilege” of moving the car because we have alternate-side street parking. She bought some groceries and did some other chores for the family.
I’m very proud of them. My wife is an excellent driver, and my wife is obviously a good teacher.
