Fast and Furious

Kennedy was FAST and I was FURIOUS!  Let me explain.  Kennedy got her permit to drive just a few days after turning 15.  There, doesn't that explain it all?  Oh, you want some more details?  Well, Kennedy was waiting for me, in the drivers seat, yesterday to go to dance.  I prefer her to practice driving in the old Honda Civic but she looked so excited sitting there behind the wheel of my suburban that I let her drive.  She had to back the suburban out of the garage which is no easy task, even for me!  I could tell that her wheels were turned and she was not backing out straight so I asked her to slow down.  At that moment she threw the pedal to the metal and we took off peeling rubber out of the garage while side swiping the whole front right side of the car!  She said she mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal.  She was immediately in tears and I tried with every ounce of my soul not to start screaming at her.  She knew I was mad and frustrated but I must admit I did handle the situation quite well.  My biggest frustration was that we had just spent $1,800 to fix the front left side of the car and now she has ruined the front right side of the car.  But just after the moment of impact, two thoughts came to me.  The first was of a much younger version of myself doing the same thing to my parents garage and car right after my mission.  I remember so well, my dad standing there watching me do it and afterwards only shaking his head and mentioning that he could tell I hadn't driven a car for 18 months.  What a relief that was to know he wasn't going to scream at me and make a big issue out of it.  I had already felt so terrible.  The second thought was that I was also the reason we had just spent $1,800 to fix the suburban! So Kennedy was saved by her mother's imperfections and a great dad that already had the foresight and wisdom to react just like my dad did.