Under His Belt

My son attends a different school than my daughters. While they ride the bus, he carpools.

Driving him and the other kids hasn't been a problem all these years, yet I was thrilled when the oldest boy in the carpool turned 16 and got his driver's license in December! Now I pick up my son only when he stays after school for activities. Otherwise, our young friend drives him to and fro.

He's a good, responsible kid whom I've known for a decade. I have a lot of trust in him.

Still, we've gotten a lot of snow this season...

And then he told my husband that he'd slid off the road recently.

Whew! I was actually relieved. The conditions of his mini-accident were really quite ideal: He was driving with at least one parent in the car. There was snow on the ground, and gaining experience with that snow was the purpose of the drive. Nobody was hurt, not even the car.

So now he knows.

He knows he's not invincible. He knows how his car reacts when driving in slick conditions. He knows how it feels to lose control of all that steel, despite his best intentions.

Now he'll be an even better driver. One with experience under his belt.