Watch Out World - Tom's On The Move

Literally, for on Friday Tom successfully passed his Vic Road's Test and now has his Learners Permit to drive.  

Tom with Permit - his actual license will come in two weeks with photo ID

 As a Mum i was so nervous that:

A. he wouldn't pass and i would have to deal with it, and
B. that he would pass and i would have to deal with it.

Being an Aspie has its advantages at times.  He doesn't seem to get as nervous as others when approaching challenges.  He kinda takes it as it comes and breezes through.  Why should he worry, he has a mother that will do that for him.  I was going crazy telling him to study everytime i saw him in the preceding week.  I must have driven him nuts.  He just rolled along, saying "its OK mum", "it will be alright".   I gave him a lecture as he went in to take his time as he had 40 minutes to answer about 32 questions , made him take a bottle of water, and when he popped out 10 minutes later, i practically melted on the chair.  Oh Dear - i was preparing for a full on "meltdown" but i thought it would be his not mine.



Me not Tom

Once i got the big thumbs up, i was so so proud of him and even better, he was proud of himself.

Unfortunately i had to race back to work after the morning off and so he had to wait until today to go for his first drive on suburban roads.   I had taken him to a car park last Sunday so he could get used to the clutch and gears.  He/we wanted a "manual" endorsement on his license so that he would be open to more job opportunities rather than being limited to driving automatics.

And so, given that we both have automatic vehicles, Tom has his FIRST CAR!!!!!

Its a RAV4 and it belonged to my sister.   I can remember my niece learning to drive in it and i think my sister (having the patience of Job) has taught many young teenagers to do the same.  Being slightly higher up with very good vision is certainly an advantage.   Its done quite a few KM's but has been well maintained.

Hubby and Tom have bought the service manual for this model and have already, together, changed the headlights to more efficient globes, replaced the hose for the squirty bottle (im very technical) and have poured over the engine and planned its makeover. Apparently its a pretty simple engine and will be good for Tom to learn basic mechanics but i think their priority is the stereo upgrade.  There is a spare sub-woofer from one of Hubby's ex-cars lurking in the garage that seems to be destined for the RAV.  Sorry neighbours but now its our turn - revenge is sweet!

The first night it arrived he washed all the "country" dirt from it so thoroughly he was still at it at 10pm and we had to set up some spot lights.  Why is it that when i bribed him to do my car it took about 30 minutes and was less than perfect?   This vehicle was "so country" that the roof has to be resprayed as it only has undercoat on it from recent repairs due to GOATS dancing on top.

On several occasions, he has gone out to "His Car" and sat in it listening to the radio.  He keeps saying, "I just cant believe it Mum".   It's so so cute, but i do remember doing a similar thing myself! I must remember that 16 year old boys are not cute!

Today we both took him for separate drives around the streets near our home.   He is quietly confident and is taking it slower than i expected.  He has been telling me he could drive for years based on his thorough experience in driving go-carts and clocking too many hours to count on driving games.  I kept telling him that real cars don't bounce off walls and there is such a things as road rules. 

Still, with 2 hours down (my that is a long time when you are driving around your own house avoiding main roads) and 118 to go before he gets out on his own with P plates, we are going to be spending alot of one on one time together and that can only be a good thing.  Stay tuned for our exploits when we venture out of the suburbs and go road tripping.  A trip "home" is around 5 hrs so that's 10 that will be in the bag. Remind me to pack an ipod with noise cancelling headphones. 

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