Driving Chronicles #15: Driving With Sisters
Wow! Today, I got my second opportunity to drive since I obtained my license. This time, I was driving with my sisters. My sister from Ohio was in town, and she wanted to get a game for my niece. Today was my niece’s birthday, so we were meeting at my parents to celebrate.
My sister came and picked me up, but my younger sister was actually the one driving. She has not had many opportunities to drive since she was laid off work herself. I had told my Ohio sister ahead of time that there was a game store nearby, but they both seemed clueless as to where it was. So, I said, “I can drive you there.” To my surprise, they actually let me drive.
In the past, my sister has refused to let me drive because of one of her rear view mirrors being damaged. Despite the mirror glass being completely missing instead of just shattered this time around, I was allowed to drive them to a few stores, and, eventually, I drove them to my parents house.
Driving with my sisters was a lot different than driving with my dad. When I was driving with my dad, he was acting more like an instructor, telling me to speed up or slow down, when to turn, and the like. My sisters kind of ignored me. Actually, my younger sister is quite adamant about not helping me when I drive. Her stance is that she will not always be there to help me. What she fails to understand is that I am still learning and will naturally need some help from time to time.
Instead of acting as teachers, my sisters talked amongst themselves and listened to music, and I kind of did my own thing. If I had a question, I asked and they answered, but there were not too many of those moments. I felt more focused and responsible, and I think that I drove better as a result. I was able to participate in the conversation and sing some songs while I drove, and it all seemed very natural. This experience should give me an extra helping of driving confidence, but not as much as more opportunities to drive would.
If you are wondering if anything happened like when I drove with my dad, then you should not. I did not pull into the shared drive. I stopped down the block from my parents house and let my sister pull in herself. Her car is a bit newer, and I did not want any issues. In due time, I will be pulling into the drive that really should not have two cars side by side, though. 
See, us ignoring you did help. I understand a little more than you think. I understand that when you’re learning how to drive you’re never going to feel comfortable driving when people are constantly breathing down your neck and telling you what to do. Them telling you to relax doesn’t help either. You have to learn to be comfortable and confident. Btw, we weren’t really ignoring you we were watching you like a hawk LOL!