Today my son goes to driving school.

Oh sure, he’s had his permit for a while now, after all, he’s nearly 18 years old. Except that his permit has expired. This is news to me. As in, I found out about 15 minutes ago. Apparently you’re supposed to actually learn to drive and get your license once you obtain the permit. Oh.

Last year, over Christmas break, he got his permit.

This year, over Christmas break, it expired.

Nobody realized it. It just sat in his wallet and when he announced that he was really ready to go for it we all assumed that everything was in order, and I handed him the keys. He had driven a few times before, around the block and in the neighborhood, but now he wanted to really practice. It was time.

We drove around a bit, and I made some inquiries into various driving schools. I picked one, and signed him up. It’s not cheap, but as far as I’m concerned it’s a lifetime investment in his safety, and I’m not about to skimp on that.

Today he is scheduled for a full day of classroom instruction, no actual driving. We’re to arrive a bit early to finish filling in paperwork and pay. We’re to bring along his permit. Which expired.

Darn it!

The good news is that Spring Break is coming up, so we get go get a new one then, but his road practice will have to wait.

Sometimes we think we’re prepared, but we just aren’t quite ready. That’s how I feel about a lot of things lately. I’m not quite ready to see him go driving off, and I’m not quite ready for him to graduate high school. I’m not quite ready for him to move away to college, and I’m not quite ready for him to be a man. Just like the driving, though, it’s time, so I might as well get used to it.