I came across this earlier entry while writing in my journal this morning. I had planned to post it in my blog a few months ago, but due to some crazy surprises and unplanned life events, my blogging plans had been put on hold, until now.
Driving with a 16 year old…
My baby daughter is
16 and without a driver’s license. I
know that this is extremely rare in today’s society, but such is the case in my
house. She has her learner’s permit, but
circumstances prevented us from being able to get it for her on her 15th
birthday, so now we are late in converting it to the real deal.
She is the last of four and one would think this would be no
big deal for me at this point. Hey, I’ve
done this before. No problem, piece of
cake… two older brothers and one big sister.
Each of her siblings has had at least one significant fender-bender too,
so the insurance company loves me and my checkbook!
Plus, I’ve given each child driving lessons, waited in the ridiculously
long lines at the DMV enough to read several novels, and sweated through many
failed tests and the resulting drama.
All part of a rite of passage and one sign of growing up... But this girl?
The last of four, she is very outspoken and opinionated,
quick to blame “our” current situation on me, the ladies who work at the DMV,
her poor eyesight, (Nothing like waiting in line two hours and having your
child FINALLY pass the written test only to discover that she needs glasses!)
the “trick” questions on the test… you get the idea. This ordeal has been going on awhile.
But I can almost laugh about it now, because this brilliant
little girl continues to teach her old dad things even through this. She has always been amazing to me as have all
my children, and I have learned far more from them as their dad, than I think I
could ever teach them.
So what is to be learned through this ongoing saga? How about a list?
1. Things
don’t always go as planned. I’ve
always known this and life reminds me of it daily. However, we can keep going, work around the
detours, ride out the bumps and just keep pressing forward.
2. Anything
worth having is worth pursuing. More often the not, the greater the value
or importance of whatever we are striving for, the greater the effort required
to acquire it. Great desire may cause us great pain, but will most certainly
provide us the resources to overcome it and achieve that desire.
3. Perfect
practice makes progress. As a
musician (and perfectionist) I know firsthand that practice DOES NOT make
perfect. Perfection is
unattainable. BUT… practice that is
focused and intentional will yield results that will make us better. And only by becoming better will we be able
to help others become better.
4. Don’t be
afraid to START. This is the essence
of success. No amount of planning,
preparing, or practicing will accomplish anything without taking that first
step. That is the pursuing. One cannot pursue anything without first
starting.
As an entrepreneur I am always looking for life lessons,
things that I can apply daily to help me build a better life for me and my
family. So all this from teenage
driving? Yes… and no. This entire process has brought many events
of years past in my life’s journey, into some poignant moments of extreme clarity
of thought.
Yes, this entire
blog post started with a driving lesson…
