Driver #2

The time has come. Evan is now a practicing driver. Time is so strange, and it's a little bittersweet when I think of the version of him I more frequently called "sweet face", but I truly enjoy every age and stage. I'm excited for them to continue to grow into their individuality. 

In January, Evan took is 12 Segment 1 driver's education classes.

He also did his 6 hours of behind-the-wheel time.

Ryan also went through Mr. G's which runs out of Lakeshore High School, which is right near our house. We were happy with the experience. 

After completing the requirements, he had to wait a little over 3 weeks to get his Level 1 license. Family schedules were busy, and we appreciated his patience, as I'm sure he was eager to get on with the process.

Officially a licensed driver. 

His card arrived in the mail in the last couple days, making it extra official.

driving home from Secretary of State

Now he needs to accrue 30 of 50 supervised driving hours, then he can take his Segment 2 classes. After that, once he accrues all 50 hours, we'll revisit Secretary of State to apply for his Level 2 license (what Ryan currently has). Once they turn 17, if they've been safe (no violations or crashes) they automatically get their Level 3 license, which is a full fledged regular license.

With Ryan, it feels like Burke did most of the supervised driving. Somehow, with Evan, it seems like I'm the one more often in the car with him. As an anxious person, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Evan gives a different vibe than Ryan did at this stage, not in a bad way, just different. Considering they're different humans, this makes sense, but it nonetheless interesting to observe. Evan's a little more cautious (not implying that Ryan was not cautious, for sure). Evan also forgets to put on his seatbelt, and is currently uncomfortable accelerating through turns. He's too courteous. For example, he defaults to slowing down so someone in oncoming traffic can turn left in front of him. While thoughtful, it's kind of against the rules of the road, and is a surefire way to get rear ended. That all being said, there are a lot of good things going on (he's quite good at parking), and he's getting more confident, and comfortable with every drive. 

My parenting mantra was always "learn lots, and have fun." As they become increasingly independent, I've added "safety bubble always." 

King Lear

Evan's really caught the stage performance bug, and he's enjoying hanging out with this particular group of kiddos, who are mostly juniors and seniors. Recently, he played King Lear in a play called Outrageous Fortune. The premise is that tragic Shakespearean characters are trying to get closure by confronting their fatal flaws, as well as other characters from their respective plays that wronged them. It was pretty clever, and I enjoyed learning more about some Shakespeare plots. Glad I went to all three performances. It made more and more sense with each viewing. 

King Lear

King Lear, his daughter Cordelia, and Lear's fatal flaw - Vanity

Tragedians Anonymous reconvening to report how their confrontations went. 

cast

Lear with his three daughters

Bravo!

In related news, we just wrapped a weeks-long conversations with both boys about course selection for next year. After much thought, Evan decided he wants to take Concert Choir next year, because he likes this group of kids and he enjoys singing. So, double concerts for us! Yay. He says that this will be his only year doing choir, because these kids will graduate, and he specifically wants to sing with them. We shall see. Even though I'm not particularly excited to have to schedule in all the choir events, in addition to orchestra events, I am enjoying that Evan is pursuing his interests with thoughtfulness, positivity, and confidence. Keep it up, kiddo.