Where did the years go?

There have been many times in my life as a parent when I realized that I was crossing a threshold into a new dimension with my children.

One of the scariest is when they are learning how to drive. Nothing puts you on your knees more than sending a child out in the car by themselves EXCEPT riding in the car with a child driving. Carl has nerves of steel and he did the initial on the road with each of ours after they had been around the church parking lot a million times with me.

All our children had the opportunity to attend some form of driving school. Andrew attended in Pine Bluff while Kaitlin and John attended in LR. Kaitlin and John attended Thompson's Driving School. I cannot praise the instruction they received high enough. I learned so much too as they would come home and share what they had learned. I didn't know that you should not drive with your cruise control on in the rain so that you don't hydroplane or that your visor should only be all the way up or out enough to block the sun because if not, in a wreck it can cause great damage to your head.

The threshold I crossed this week was on Wednesday evening. John, Marisa, Kaitlin and I went up to Fayetteville for the day. Kaitlin was taking senior pictures. As we were heading home with John driving, the weather grew angry- wind, rain and then there was the hail. I have never been in a car in a hail storm. LOUD does not describe it. John never lost his cool, he was never flustered, he was steady and calm as all Hell hail was breaking loose all around us. I never had the feeling to take over the driving because I realized that I had complete confidence in John. Wow. When did this baby grow up and where did this man come from? I was sitting in the back seat and I fell asleep because I knew John was capable of getting us home.

And he did.