Article January 17, 2011 Issue

The driving force

Who needs a learner’s permit?

by Madora Kibbe

Here’s a pop quiz. Back when our twins had just turned 16, the driving force in their lives was:
a. Preaching the gospel to every creature?
b. Finding the answer to global warming?
c. Getting their learners’ permits?

If you answered a. or b., thank you very much, but, no. Their drive was to drive. Which of course is only natural when you’re that age. In our son and daughter’s case, it didn’t mean they didn’t care about making the world a better place. They just preferred to work for change while in the driver’s seat. I mean that literally.

Our daughter in particular had many grandiose ideas about what she would do once she got her learner’s permit. Every day the plans seemed to get more and more complicated. She’d be driving to her friend’s house. She’d be taking her friends on a short little spin.