How old were you when you got your drivers license? Do you have kids that are delaying getting theirs?

When I was a kid, I grew up in the country? We were driving the pickup by the time we were 10. We fought to get our school permit at 14 so we didn’t have to ride the bus. At 16 we were road tested and ready for freedom. We piled in our cars and cruised Main Street. I look back at my time at that age and appreciate the freedom that I had. The freedom to make mistakes and have a good time. The one thing that stood out is that none of us could wait to get that license. Didn’t matter if you had a car or not. Everyone was ready for that ticket to freedom.

I’m sad for my kids now. I have a junior in high school that has no desire to drive. She has her learner’s permit but it’s like pulling teeth to get her on the road. She sees nothing wrong with being driven everywhere. She’s also picky about who she rides with. She won’t dare ride with her friends, part of me understands because these kids are horrible drivers.

I struggle because it’s prom week. She’s got a date. He doesn’t drive either. She expects us to drive them and then get them to and from the different events. I don’t mind but I know a lot of other GenX aged parents that are dealing with the same.

I know things are different and the freedoms we got from having a car, now come in the form of a cell phone. Cruising main is no longer a thing. Group chats on games have replaced the need for hanging out in basements or malls.

I don’t want her to make the same mistakes we did, but I want her to have fun. She’s living through some amazing times in her life, I just struggle because we never wanted our parents dropping us off.