He did it! Adam got his driver's license Wednesday! I'm so glad he got it on the first try. Here's a summary of how this all came together:
16th BDay - doesn't have money for a car & insurance, so no interest in driving yet.
5/10 - we moved, he was depressed, no interest in driving, had last paycheck in bank
6/1/10 - money ran out, "this sucks", wanted to get his permit (mostly to drive himself back to the valley to see his friends), new interest in getting a job
7/10 - Adam begins driving off just the golf course roads. He's a perfectionist, so he over-corrects and gets really stressed over not driving perfect. Has a chance to drive in the valley for about a mile and realizes at the stoplight, he's never driven up to one because we don't have ANY in town or in St. John's.
8/10 - skills improve, drives to town and pulls over before getting into the heavier traffic areas.
10/10 - Job hunting continues with no luck for 2 months, drives us either to or from church and sometimes while going to town to run errands.
12/10 - Lucky Break! Someone at church hooks Adam up to get a job at KFC in Show Low, the nearest town to get a job, 27 miles each way - VERY interested in getting his license to cut down on gas. He has to pay for the car to go there and back twice (to drop him off, come home, and go pick him up 7 hours later, and come home)
1/11 - He drives everywhere now, parking is still difficult but he's become a good driver. He even dodged a last-minute elk on the side of the road at 11:30 at night without even flinching.
2/10/11 - Adam turns 17 and wanted to have his license by now but they only do testing 2 days a week, we've all been taking turns being sick, and he works 4 days a week.
2/23/11 - We practiced parking in left and right hand spaces until he got it, practiced parallel parking a few times, drove around (they closed for lunch), and he went on his test. He passed first try - and he did it in a MINIVAN!
This is a great accomplishment that Adam should be proud of. Although Tim and I both passed our tests on the first try, I realize that's not always the case. I know lots of people that had to take it 2, 3, or even more times before they passed. We didn't have the money for Driver's Ed, but since we homeschool anyway, we taught Adam driving like it was a class for school - with lots of detail, information, practice and testing. He's actually a very good driver, as long as he doesn't get distracted changing the CD or anything. He already opposes texting or taking calls while driving, so I'm really not that worried about anything but late-night elk.
He's 17, got a job, got his license, carrying Honor Roll grades in 11th grade, and although I'll be sad when he moves out, I trust he can handle it when the time comes.
