Driving Miss Caity

What a difference a fortnight can make.
A little over a fortnight ago, Miss C achieved an important milestone. She managed to get a learner's permit. It was the second attempt. The first attempt proved that Mum was indeed correct, that simply being able to "ace" the online test samples is not adequate preparation for the learner's test. The $11.50 Keys to Driving in Qld book has been published with the intention that it would actually be read from cover to cover... more than once. Judging by the falure rates I observed in the hours spent at the Transport Department (for every 3 fronting up, an average of 2 failed), someone ought to form a group on Facebook, or Tweet to everyone around 16 saying "the mate who told you you could pass by just doing the online tests was misleading you!"
So just over a fortnight ago, the laminate still hot on her Learner's Permit, we celebrated by visiting an auto accessory shop, buying some "L" plates and heading out of town to a long straight wide country road for her first lesson. Along the way, we talkied about checking rearview mirrors, the order of hand brake before accelerator, indicating...we were ready. I found a good shoulder to pull over on, put on the "L" plates, changed places and then there was a terrifying minute or so as I suddenly realised just what I was doing. I was handing over my car to a girl who really preferred to be a passenger in dodgem cars, who ran into a bush in her friend's bush basher, who barely had enough stremgth in her hands to release the hand brake as I was now observing! Then she started and I don't know who was even more terrified. We crept along at 10, then 20 and 30. Cait gradually gaining confidence and I slowly relaxing. This was OK. She'd be managing a drive to Innisfail before the week was out. She steered nice and straight, she even asked could she go up to 80 (I refused - that was a tad too scary just yet!) Then we came to the first corner - my heart was inj my mouth again. Fortunately there was no other cars around as Cait slowed almost to a standstill and wildly oversteered. The next corner was a bit faster and a bit smoother. Then we came to an intersection. I said I'd never grab the wheel of my Learner driver... and I still insist that I was meerly adding a little extra guidance to her steering as the signpost came terribly close to the front of the car!
After almost 50 minutes, we were still on speaking terms, though both a little tired and certainly ready to call it a day.
For the rest of the week, we had a driving fiend on our hands. Any spare moment, her father and I were nagged to take her driving.
This past week, though, we haven't had the time, or when we have, she'd left her log book behind (with the all importnt "L" plates)so there has been no driving until this afternoon, when she did the drive down to Saunder's Beach. Maybe the week off has been a good thing. She had improved so much - driving smoothly and competently and even managing to turn into the side streets at a speed over 5kph! Or maybe she simply had already made those improvements and we just hadn't noticed it yet.
1 hour down... 99 to go!!!