I have been teaching Pete to drive. We're not very far into the process, because our DMV was closed for a while and then crowded for a while and also I hate teaching people to drive so I was not in a hurry to get to the DMV after it reopened. But here we are, inching our way up the learning curve.
There are a lot of parenting skills that improve with practice, but I just don't know if teaching kids to drive is one of those skills for me. I have never been an especially calm driver. My parents were very, very clear -- maybe a little too clear -- about the hazards. YOU COULD DIE OR KILL SOMEONE OR BOTH! PERMANENT DISABILITY IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY! That message came through loud and clear. I have to remind myself, deliberately and repeatedly, that the large majority of car trips will be uneventful.
Pete is unusually sensitive to my state of mind, so he picks up on every mildly stressed exhalation when we are in the car together. This is not an ideal combination.
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