Going Solo

Sarah has made steady progress with her driving skills; I can now ride with her without exceeding my target heart rate. In fact, she drove us to her eye doctor's appointment in January, which required using the freeway through Springfield and navigating roundabouts for the first time. She had to take an extra lap around the one by the bridge in Northampton because she missed the exit the first time, but she didn't panic and got it on the second try.

She was determined to get her license as soon as she was eligible age-wise, which was January 25, but she couldn't get her lessons booked in time. She had her last lesson on the Tuesday of February break and took her test the following Saturday. 

She aced the parallel parking, three-point turn, and parking on a hill. At a four-way stop, she pulled wide around a van parked on the side of the road (as her mom and dad taught her). When they got back to the RMV, the tester said that was cause for failure, since she crossed the yellow line, but she passed her anyway.

Sunday afternoon, she put together a kit to keep in the car, with first aid supplies, hand sanitizer, makeup, hair brush, and who-knows-what-else. She's been relying on us to adjust the heat and help her operate some of the controls, so she and Don spent half an hour going over everything again. We also signed an agreement with expectations for her driving.

Monday morning, she slept 15 minutes later than usual and pulled out of the driveway a little before 7 for her first completely independent trip away from home. Of course she stopped at Dunkin for a celebratory drink on the way to school. She returned around 4:00 p.m., as if she'd been doing it forever. 

Our rule is that, if she doesn't have a reason to stay after school, she has to take the bus. Not surprisingly, she found a reason every day this week, including helping the assistant principal with his filing. 😀

Friday, she stopped for gas on the way to school, and everything went smoothly. After school, she met friends at Subway to get grinders (AKA subs), then they joined others at one of the houses they frequent. She drove home in the evening, along narrow, windy back roads. When I asked her how it felt, she said, "Relaxing."

It was a great week for all, with one exception: When Don and I met with our insurance agent in November, we asked her for an estimate of the final insurance premium once Sarah was added as a driver. She refused to give us one, but Don ball-parked $1,000 more annually. 

The new agreement arrived Wednesday, and it's $3,000 more -- $8.22 a day!

By Friday evening, though, the initial shock had worn off. Cozy in my recliner with Abby and Nick -- instead of behind the wheel on the aforementioned dark, narrow, windy roads -- I considered the premium increase money well spent.