Man-boy goes to court.

I don't know how it is in your state, but in Virginia teenagers get their driver's licenses by going to court. First they get a learner's permit, then they do the written and behind-the-wheel training, they drive at least 40 hours with a parent, and then they get a summons to appear before the judge with a parent. Today was Man-boy's day.

The summons tells you where to go (Juvenile/Domestic Relations Court), what time, and reminds you to dress appropriately and leave your cell phone at home. They make a big deal out of not bringing your cell phone to court.

So this morning Man-boy and I got up and dressed appropriately. He was the only one (including the judge) with a necktie on, so okay, maybe I overdid it. But better safe than sorry, right? We made sure he had all the right papers, and both of us threw our cell phones on the doghouse in the van before we went in.

After a minor mishap getting through security (something about not bringing pocket knives into the courtroom), we went upstairs and sat through the judge's lecture about safe driving, listened to a lot of statistics (16 year olds have 4 times as many fatal accidents as 30 year olds), and looked at a bunch of pictures of wrecked cars, each parent was given his/her child's license. The judge reminded us many times that it was up to us whether our kids drove or not. We have the power to take the license away at any time, and can even get DMV to revoke it if we so choose.

When we got to the car, I looked at Man-boy and said, "I'm going to say one thing before I give you this license. I don't ever want to be called to the scene of a fatal accident because you did something stupid. Don't ever make me go through that."

Praying for safety for Man-boy.

Be thankful ~

Karen