Back in the spring, when we started charting this blogosphere together, one of the first bits of nonsense I wrote was about having two sons learning to drive. It is time for an update. Both boys now have their official driver's licenses. We made it through a number of moderately close calls to get to this point. There was the time one of them saw some friends' cars and just stopped...in the middle of the street. He had arrived at his destination and was ready to get out. We had to cover the finer points of safely finding the side of the road before putting the car in park. The other one had a habit of coming up on cars stopped at a light a little too fast, especially for his mother. She officially changed his name to "Slow down...slow down....STOP....Ahhhh!" It just made things easier for her. But, overall, both boys did fine and, now are official drivers. Almost.

As many of you know, it is expensive to put teenage boys on the car insurance. When I called my agent and told him we had two to add he was quite sympathetic, in between laughing hysterically and calling the marina to order his new bass boat. Now, there are ways to get a few discounts, like good grades. Fortunately, both young people get decent marks which shaves a little off the price and both took the insurance company's DVD/workbook test to lower the amount a bit more. We also have our homeowner's policy with these folks so that gives us another minor decrease. After all these items were taken into account, we still had an increase equal to the Gross National Product of Fredonia. We decided to increase our deductible in an effort to hold back costs. I think I am now liable for any damage up to and including a dirigible accidentally hooking onto the vehicle and then dropping it through the roof of a jewelry store.

At this point it was clear that the only way the boys were going to be drivers was to pay for their share of the insurance. This also seemed to be a good way to encourage responsible driving and introduce them to the adult reality that just about everything costs money. While most folks have supported this idea, I have had a couple people say "Oh, you're a strict dad...that's a lot of money for a child." Well, short of having my inner child get a job as a bellhop somewhere, this is going to have to do.

The oldest boy, for whom getting a driver's license was never a priority until it looked like his little brother might get it first, has been hesitant to part with his dough. He is happy he has his official license now but doesn't feel any great need to actually drive. One of the top priorities in his college search is how good the public transportation is wherever he may end up as a student. The younger son, however, loves to drive. He just enjoys being behind the wheel, so, the day he got his license, he gave me the first six months worth of premiums. Well, he gave it to my wife which means the chances of it still being available when the bill comes are iffy. I think he had an ulterior motive in giving the money to his mother because I've noticed that she has gone from calling him "Slow down...slow down...STOP...Aaaahhh" to "My Dear Sweet Boy."

Now, we are starting the next step in the process when the scale starts to tip from being too worried to let the young driver go anywhere by himself to being too lazy to drive to the store for fudge-covered cheese curls yourself. We have let him drive to a friend's house about a mile away but made him call when he got there and before he left, in addition to the messages my wife and I left on his cell-phone about checking his blind spots and taking his time. At some point, we will be letting him run errands, take himself to events, and cart his siblings around...but not quite yet.

So, I thought to myself the other day as I pulled into the garage, we are done with the learner's permits...the lessons...the practicing in parking lots...the close calls...the colorful car language...all the rest....for awhile. Then, my daughter jumped in the car and informed me that a lot of her friends are turning 14 and getting their learner's permits and "well, I'm only about 72 days away from being 14 so that will be exciting...soon you'll have another driver in the family and I can help out with stuff....and I'll be a really good driver...." I don't remember the rest of what she said. I was too busy removing all the tires and steering wheel from the car. She can wait awhile. After all, how many more white hairs can my head hold and how many bass boats does one insurance agent really need?