Thanks Dad

When I was 15 and learning how to drive (you can drive at 15 in SC...) my dad let me take the family minivan for a spin around the circle once. Then he told me "you can drive this again after you learn how to drive that" and pointed to his truck. His manual, stick shift truck.

Ugh.

Really??!! Do I have to??

So the next few weeks were filled with dad and me going out and around the neighborhoods in the truck. And me whining about having to learn in the truck... me trying to figure out to in the hell to go from "stop" into first... smoothly.... Anyone who knows how to drive a stick knows getting from first into the other gears is easy. It's going from "stop" to "moving" that's tricky (when you're first learning...)

The best was when dad and I headed out, again, for practice. Dad climbed into the passenger seat with his tall 64oz plastic cup of ice water. (it was SC in summer....). As I was driving down the street dad decided to set his cup on the dashboard. As I came to the stop sign he forgot about his cup.... that is until I started back up again. I was stuttering in first gear, trying to get it going. All that back and forth sent his ice water tumbling into his lap. I heard words from him that I don't think I had ever heard before... That was the last time he brought water with him in the truck.... ; )

But alas... many years later I've been grateful on many occasions that my dad taught his daughter how to drive a stick. Like today.

David dropped my Jeep off at the dealer to get a few things fixed on it that we didn't see when we bought it. I drove David's manual Dodge Neon to work. In a snowstorm. On top of the ice we had from yesterday.

Great fun.

Since I wasn't thrilled about diving the Neon home David said he'd swing by my office and swap out his car from the loaner (a minivan, I should add.... I haven't driven a minivan since I first learned to drive... ugh!!)

Well, because of the ice and snow and the angle at which I had parked the Neon David could only spin the wheels of the Neon in our parking lot. I had to come down and we had to do the famous "Julie in the car, driving in reverse while David pushing from the front" routine.

We got it out. But let me tell you. If I didn't know how to drive a stick we'd been stuck.

Ok, not really cuz I wouldn't have driven the car to work this morning... but you get my drift.

The point of the story is - I bitched and complained to no end when I was 15 and "forced" to learn to drive a manual transmission. But I'm very grateful I know how and have great memories of learning too. Every kid should have to learn - even if it's just to spend quality time with a parent or close adult.

Thanks dad.