Learning to Drive

How did you learn how to drive? Was it by your mom or dad or another family member? Perhaps an uncle let you take over the wheel at one point when your mom and dad weren’t looking.

I’ve talked in previous blogs about how our family has always been a road-tripping family. Growing up in Ohio, my dad would drive us to see his side of our family halfway across the country, usually for Christmas break, since the Hernandez side of my family is from Austin. My mom would take us on a road trip to visit her side of the family in Pennsylvania at least once a summer.

There were several times when I was a kid that Dad would ask: “Son do you want to take the wheel?” and I would excitedly answer, “Yes!”, so he would move his seat back a little bit and allow me to climb up on his lap and put my hands on the steering wheel. I felt like such a big kid. It was really exciting, and I loved it.

I, myself, have quite a few miles under my belt.

While in college, I had a great part-time job as a chauffeur for Marathon Oil Company in Findlay, Ohio. Several times a week, I would drive to airports in mainly Detroit, but also Cleveland, Columbus, etc. Also, when I lived in Dallas, I drove to Austin at least once a month to visit my sister and nephews. After my dad got to be a certain age, sadly, he could not drive anymore, which he absolutely loved doing, so it was my turn to be the dad. I was happy to pack the kids and their stuff in our vehicle and drive from Tulsa to Ohio several times before my dad passed.

Now, it’s my turn to teach my son to drive. We started out driving through our neighborhood about a year ago when Atticus turned 15. He has since driven in rain, on highways, and even through the very intimidating monstrosity known as the “Dallas High Five.”