Mom's Wit By Janet Brown

One hot day, I retreated to the coolness and comfort of our basement. Imagine a nice, comfortable area - but full of clutter. I found one area that I could occupy, and as I got myself comfortable to do absolutely nothing, I picked up an old edition of the newspaper from August 1997. I quickly scanned it and saw the article "Is Your 16-Year-Old Ready to Drive?" This was quite a coincidence because my son is now 16 and has a learner's permit. This permit gives him permission to learn how to drive. The article was informative and advises you to set rules for your young driver.

We've given him the first rule - he can't take his road test until he takes - and passes - driver's ed. He wasn't pleased at first because he had to give up some of his summer vacation, but he's now taking it at summer school.

He comes home from Driver's Education with a lot of facts and plays "Stump Mom." He asks me a question to find out if I know the answer, then shakes his head in approval or disapproval at my answers. We have quite the discussion over some of his questions. I have also been informed about my bad driving -- all of this from a 16-year-old with a learner's permit.

It is now my turn to give advice and ask questions as he drives. I remind him to slow down, anticipate what is happening ahead. Don't try and go across that one-car bridge - see that other car approaching you, don't play chicken, let him cross first. When going over the knoll of the hill, slow down because you can't see what is ahead, you might hit a cow - remember when that happened to your uncle? When you go around those "S" curves in the road, always slow down, even in good weather. The roads tend to be icy and slippery in winter and you could slide and skid your car and land in the creek over here - like I did in 1973! If you think you're low on gas, fill it, don't guess - like your father did one time.

I sit calmly and begin to relax. We have pulled into the driveway. He turns the car off and grins from ear to ear. He did quite well, and as I open the car door to get out, he says, "Mom, don't forget to take off your seatbelt." "Yeah, yeah," I reply.