Look out, number 47

The true test will be on Monday when Nicole sends me to work in her car.

But last night, I drove from our house to her mother's house (about ten-ish minutes away, if not more) in Nicole's car -- a stick shift.

I realize that I'm turning twenty-seven on Saturday, and that I shouldn't be so excited about driving...but the idea that I've never learned how to be fully comfortable driving a stick shift -- and that I did it last night -- is amazing to me. I shifted gears, I am learning to "feel" the engine, I didn't stall the car.

Okay, I stalled once. BUT! It stalled when I was pulling into OUR driveway after the whole trip. Nicole called it a fluke. It's no wonder I love her.

I never learned because my parents never had a manual car when I had my license. I remember way -- WAY -- back in the day, my dad drove a little white Subaru, and I remembered him shifting and all of that when he would drive. But my mother NEVER drove the car. Actually, I believe that my mom was supposed to take the car for inspection, and she had to call Aunt Jeanne to drive. My mom never learned how to drive a stick shift, and therefore, neither did we. My brother and I feel a little cheated by it.

A while ago, Sean started teaching me how to drive. Sean may in fact be the best driving instructor one can imagine. He let me stall that darn truck a thousand times, and he was patient through the whole process. Great times. I drove around parking lots, I drove by elementary schools (when school was NOT in session), I stalled on a hill, all because he just let me. And explained how to do it in language that made complete sense. Now, with Nicole's help, I'm getting the basics and more under my belt.

Monday, however, is the true test. There is QUITE the hill leading up to my school. If something happens there, I am -- not to put too fine a point on it -- doomed. We're going to take a test drive this weekend to practice. But Monday, alone, me and the Eclipse...that's when we'll see just how comfortable I am driving a stick shift.