Mama Mantra: The Convenience Outweighs the Fear

Posted November 12, 2024 by Prairie Wife - 1 comment

This may be a controversial post, but I am here to say that having children who drive is a situation where the convenience outweighs the fear!

As a parent who is now working towards having her third driver (Cowboy W has his hardship permit now), I feel confident offering this advice.

I don’t honestly think you realize how scary driving is until you have a kid who is beginning to drive.

Then, suddenly, you realize how insane it is that we all drive around in 5,000 pounds of metal and plastic at speeds up to 80mph and assume all the other cars will stay in their lane or have working brake lights.

And you realize how genuinely insane it is at the exact moment you are hanging onto the “oh shit handle” for dear life while yelling at your teen for the thousandth time, “Slow down before you turn, slow DOWN!”

The Cowboy is actually responsible for most of the driving education in our family. He’s a better fit for SO many reasons! He can stay calmer in tense situations; the Cowkids don’t take it as personally when he yells at them, and with my past experiences of car wrecks, I tend to be a little more tense than him.

Once the Cowkids have mastered the basics, I begin to ride along with them, and then The Cowboy and I decide together if we think they are safe enough to drive on their own. We have made it clear to The Cowkids that driving is a privilege, not a right, and many factors besides their ability to drive a car safely go into the decision to allow them to get their license.

Because we live rurally, our children can get a hardship license and drive at 15. They can only drive with their siblings, and there is a curfew as well as a few other restrictions, but it is incredibly helpful to have them.

They don’t mind hanging out in town while a younger sibling finishes practice, which saves me over 30 minutes of time!

It’s no problem for them to swing by our small-town grocery store on their way home to snag a few items I need to make dinner.

There are perks to not having to wait in a parking lot at 1 a.m. for the wrestling bus to pull in.

Do I worry about all the worst-case scenarios? Absolutely.

Are they tired of all my warnings to “wear your seatbelt,” “watch out when you’re pulling onto the highway,” and “better to be late and alive than rush and get hurt”? Absolutely.

Do I text them often with up-to-date road reports during the winter? Yup!

The Cowkids know I do these things because I care, and we’ve had more than a few times when they’ve had some close calls and have admitted they were thankful they took our advice about handling situations.

With its harsh weather and miles of no cell service, driving in Wyoming can be incredibly dangerous. And don’t forget all the wildlife on the roads all year long. Earlier this Fall, Cowboy J had to help a stranded young woman after she hit a deer with her car!

Letting your kids have the freedom to drive themselves where they want to go and trusting them to be responsible and make the right choices while out and about is a big confidence builder for them! And it’s a life skill, especially in Wyoming, where we don’t really have public transportation.

Yes, having a teenage driver is scary, and you WILL worry about them.

But I promise you, the convenience outweighs the fear.

St. Christopher is the Patron Saint of travelers, so below are two prayers that you may find comforting if you’re feeling anxious about having a young driver. I know they have helped me!

“Dear Saint Christopher, protect me today in all my travels. Give your warning sign if danger is near so that I may stop while the path is clear. Be at my window and direct me through when the vision blurs from out of the blue. Carry me safely to my destined place, like you carried Christ in your close embrace. Amen”

“O God, Who led the children of Israel safely through the Red Sea, and guided the Wise Men by a star to the Savior: grant us, we beseech Thee, safe journey and favorable weather; so that, under the guidance of Thy Holy Angels, we may safely reach our destination and, in due time, the gate of eternal salvation. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen. St. Christopher, patron of travelers, pray for us, and protect us from evil. Amen”

One thought on "Mama Mantra: The Convenience Outweighs the Fear"

Bennie says:

November 13, 2024 at 11:00 am

I’m a nervous passenger depending on the driver. My best friend is a horrible, horrible driver. I only drive with her when it’s around our town. If we have to go on the highway or someplace we’re not familiar with I do the driving. She is not good when it comes to driving some place she’s not familiar with and I see a panic on her face which puts me in a panic. She drives too fast, she breaks at the last minute and she puts her signal on also at the last minute. If I rode as her passenger more often in her car there would be a permanent worn out spot for the break would be in the passenger side.

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