by Greg Buckley

Created on: August 02, 2008

As I have stated in a past post or passing conversations, I have recently become a father of a new, 16 year old daughter. Yes, that can be a bit confusing because she has been with my wife and I since birth. And wouldn't you know it happened exactly on Father's Day, 1992 (time of birth: 12:03AM) I still say we were the first in the state, but who knows. She thinks she was and that adds to the story

Being the case, my daughter blatantly and without regret, makes it a point to remind me what a special privilege her birth was on what is supposed to MY DAY. She has such a way of stating her prominence in the family hierarchy, "Dad, I
was
the best Father's Day present you could have ever gotten." I have no defense against that statement and won't even try, except that once in awhile I'll throw the "But, Kelly, I really enjoyed the round of golf your Mom got me that one year, B.Y." (Before You talking text here) The reaction from her is typical from a confident teenager that holds the aces. "Get real, Dad." I just laugh, raise the white flag and quietly surrender.

But now, I will have to conjure up all of my experiences of being behind the wheel in order to teach my oh so confident daughter the rights and privileges of driving. I know the Drivers Ed instructor have done their best with limited time, and the burden will be on me as a parent to go the distance and finish it off. Ok, I'm ready. It's not Driving Miss Daisy, It's Driving with my Daughter. Let the lessons begin.

We casually approach the car and the first thing I do is open the drivers side door to get in. "Dad" my daughter politely says, "It's about me, right?" Again, I surrender and reluctantly walk over to the passenger side and have my seat. "Ugh", I sigh because now I feel like I'm strapping in as if I'm about to ride the worlds tallest, meanest, twisted and fastest roller coaster right from the first row no less. I'm uncomfortable, agitated that the controls are out of my hands. I don't even have a second brake pedal like those Drivers Ed cars do. No extra steering wheels, nothing! I double tug on the seat belt and take comfort in the airbag that sits right in front of me. I now hand the keys over to my daughter. The ride begins and I know it will be longer than 2 minutes.

Just like a new coaster ride, you take a look at the surroundings, nervously converse with other riders and anticipate lift off. It was no different with my daughter. I do the normal pre-flight check list with her. "Seat belts check."

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