on driving

Turning 30 was a big year for me.  Not only did I celebrate 30 in Ireland and get married, but I also got my driver's license.  Yes, you heard me right, I got my driver's license at the ripe age of 30.  I never had one up until then because frankly, I was terrified of driving. Not so much the aspect of dying but the aspect of getting in an accident and hurting someone.  I was terrified of the idea of having so much responsibility for someone else's life.  You could say that driving was my biggest fear. (It still kind of is.)

When I was dating Lance, he encouraged me to get my driving permit, but it took me almost a year to actually start learning how to drive.  The week my permit was expiring (two weeks before my wedding and three weeks before moving to Alabama), I scheduled my DMV driving test for that Friday. Then I scheduled two driving lessons the Wednesday and Thursday before my test.  The two lessons were in the evening and in the rain, and I think I actually did alright... considering I really hadn't driven much at all before then.

Long story short, I went in for my test, and it started raining, but I passed with flying colors! Thankfully I had a lot of good, practical instruction for my driving teacher and lots of advice from my dad. 

That was December 2015.  Flash forward to spring of this year.  I was still nervous about driving, so Lance had been driving me everywhere.  But my cousin was coming to visit and so I drove for the first time since getting my license.  She was such a good sport and didn't express her fear too much.  (Hugs) But having her visit got me in to the swing of driving.  I was finally getting used to driving when our poor car broke down!

I was so bummed. Thankfully after a month or so we bought a car and I got back to driving. I'm still not completely comfortable driving people, but I'm driving a lot by myself and love it!  I even have an Alabama driver's license now! Oh how I've grown!

P.S. The funny thing you realize when you get your driver's license at 30 is that a lot of people don't remember what the actual laws for driving are and/or don't follow them.  And that, of course, is pretty scary when you're already terrified of driving. 

 

Birmingham, AL. 2015 | iPhone 6