I'm Free, I'm Free!

Get out the noisemakers and the party hats. Natalie got her driver's license! We went down around 11:45 this morning so she could take the "written" test (it's all on a touch-screen computer - no writing), and the plan was that after she took the test she was going to work as Princess Belle at the Farmers' Market from noon until 2:00. She passed the test (a feat in itself - you have no idea what it took to get to this point) and went to the counter to schedule the driving part. I was giddy with relief that my years of servitude as a chauffeur were nearly over. I thought, stupidly, that it would be easy to schedule the driving test for next Saturday. I had no clue. We were told that the first opening was September 16th (Just kill me now - AARGH!) unless we could do it today at 1:10. Yippee! Natalie was worried her boss would be mad if she didn't go to work at the Farmer's Market, but we convinced her she would understand - and she could blame me if she wanted to. At that point I would have walked through broken glass barefoot to be free of driving Natalie around for even ONE MORE DAY. We drove over to "A Simple Wish" (the princess party store where Natalie works) and explained to Natalie's boss that she HAD to take her driving test today or wait until the third week of school (and by then I would have lost the last few marbles I had left in my head). She totally understood - she has a licensed teenage driver at her house. We went back to the DOL and had Natalie practice parallel parking in the back until it was time for the test. When Gary and I left her there on her own we were so nervous. We walked over to Burger King and got indigestion trying to eat lunch. But it all turned out wonderfully. She passed the test with an 83, and she'll remind me of that any time I criticize her driving in the future - I only got a 74. But I am definitely celebrating tonight. Bring on the chocolate!