Learning to Drive-Surviving with my Teen at the Wheel

When you live with a teenager, well, you live with a teenager. Summer is her time off from soccer. Sort of. We finished up State Cup the week after school ended in June. But then it was time for tryouts for soccer for next season. Then it was getting a new soccer uniform. And then there's soccer camp the last week of July. Competitive soccer is an obsession throughout the country. An unhealthy one, I might add.
But alas, during the month of June starting immediately after school ended she was enrolled in drivers education. Yes, folks, my daughter at 14 1/2 will be driving in Idaho. We pretend to be a farm state, which we're not. We're a little archipelago of urbanization with huge wilderness and roadless areas interpersed throughout. Illinois is more rural than Idaho by a long shot.
Drivers education lasted 4 weeks, of which she drove 12 times with her teacher and the rest was classroom time. She passed the written test with a 94. Now she's enjoying sleeping in till noon for a few weeks, since she's finished with drivers ed class. Now we get to teach her on her learners permit.
I let her drive me home from her dad's house last night. Whew we woo. Talk about trying to not show my panic. She's decent for only having driven maybe 12 times. Lots of work to be done in teaching her to multi task in watching what's going on around her and anticipating dogs, kids, bicyclists, people pulling out of driveways, and also not side swiping a vehicle on our right. Hay carumba.
Luckily for her my SUV is an automatic. Her dads Honda Van is also an automatic. But his Ford Focus wagon is a stick shift. And she's going to have to learn to drive that, too. Stick shifts were a required right of passage in my household before you could drive a car. And the same will be for my daughter.
So stay tuned for updates on how driving with my teen is going. Not only should texting be prohibited in a car driven by a teen, but so should eating, drinking anything, and listening to music. An none of their friends should be allowed in a car with them until they are 18. The distractions are amazing. Even she admitted it is the hardest thing she's ever done. And this comes from the queen of multi tasking--she can listen to music, watch TV or surf the internet and do her math homework (A's and B's, mind you); but drive--totally different altogether.
I know the grey hair I already have will be silver by the time this is over with.