Clear The Sidewalks!

The birthday boy enjoying cake at Grammy's.

Now that Marcus is 14, he's able to take the written driving test for his learner's permit. Can you believe it! Blake has let him drive a few times, and he does a pretty good job. He's an extremely cautious driver which is great - except for the fact that it takes about 10 minutes for him to get situated in the car and get backed out of the garage. A few nights ago I needed to run to Walgreens, so I asked him if he'd like to drive me. 10 minutes after getting into the car we were finally off. We came up to the stop sign at the exit of our neighborhood and he prepared to pull out on to Central. This is where it gets foggy for me. I know he jumped my Jaguar up onto the curb, drove through the grass and over the sidewalk and finally ended up out on Central. I screamed and grabbed the dashboard so hard that my neck actually ached for about 3 days. When I was finally able to ask him what happened he said that the manual he'd been studying stressed the importance of not making wide turns. I'm pretty sure what I experienced was NOT what they had in mind. AND, as if this wasn't enough, when we got to Walgreens he mistook the gas pedal for the brake and we nearly hit the side of the store. I told him that I was done for one day and that I'd drive home. I guess he thought I was abandoning my shopping because he then got out of the car and left it running. We don't drink alcohol in this family, but after this experience I considered a hefty dose of NyQuil! Or at least a narcotic pain reliever for my aching neck.