I let my kid take the day off school today to handle the annual business of dental cleaning and sports physicals. On top of that, I scheduled his driving test. He’s had his learner’s permit for the last six months or so and it was time for the big test. I’ve been teaching him how to drive my car, which is a stick shift. He’s good at it but not super comfortable. So for the test, I called my niece and asked if she would come let him drive her car a bit and let him use it for the test. Testing is already stressful enough, add to it a stick shift you don’t like and it seemed like it would be a recipe for disaster. So my awesome niece said yes and came by over the weekend to take him driving in her car. He’s really, really good in an automatic. Not that he’s not good in my car, but it stresses him out with the stopping and starting. So we went to the dentist first.
We parked in the parking lot and got out to the smell of a dead body. Maybe that of an animal or a human. I don’t know the difference. Mel was not amused. Especially when we came back out and he had the flouride taste in his mouth and then the dead animal smell. You know when something smells so bad you can taste it? Yea, it was like that. But that’s not what ruined his day.
Next, we went to the doctor’s office. He had to get his sports physical. Sure I could have done this over the summer. Especially before I had to get a “real” job, but where’s the fun in being responsible and productive? Why not wait until the last minute when the dentist is calling you telling you that you’re late for a cleaning and the coach is asking for physical forms? That’s pretty much the story of my life. So we go to the doctor’s office. Do the bloodwork and answer the questions and all that jazz. They tell Mel he is only 6’1. In reality, he is about 6’3, not counting his hair. But that isn’t what ruined his day either. We just agreed that the pediatrician isn’t used to measuring giant children.
Next, we drove out to my sister’s house to grab my niece’s car. He took the driver’s seat and I took the passenger seat. It was the first time I rode with him in an automatic and he did really well. We drove around for about 2 hours. Stopped at the barber and got his haircut. And then we just continued to drive around until it was time to go take the test.
We checked into the DMV. He was super excited about finally being able to drive by himself. We checked in. Go up to the counter after waiting about 20 minutes.
THIS IS HOW YOU RUIN YOUR KID’S DAY —
When we get to the counter, it turns out that I made the appointment for the 20th… OF SEPTEMBER!!! He was so bummed that he had to wait. But, he is my kid, so he took it like a champ and stayed in good spirits. Then I let him drive back to my sister’s to park the car. So now we have another month to wait. So I guess it’s time to start looking for a car for him…
RouletteWeekend 