Can I Drive the Car?

Can I Drive the Car?

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He believed in me.”

Jim Valvano

“Dad… can I drive the car?” Those are frightening words in any language.

They grow up too fast. When my twin daughters were fourteen, they were about to start high school and eager to learn to drive.

I suppose it’s my own fault. I have always been a car guy, and at one point, I had three antique cars in our garage: my Model A, my dad’s 1923 Overland three-door coupe, and a 1913 Overland Roadster, partially complete, or disassembled, depending on how you look at it.

So, one night, one of my girls went out on her skateboard a little too close to dark, and I went out looking for her. We lived in a quiet neighborhood, and I found her in less than a minute. She threw her board in the back and asked me, somewhat shyly, “Dad, can I drive the car?”

A million reasons went through my mind why not; it was too dark, I was too tired, I had work to do, she hadn’t exactly been cooperative lately… But, I said yes, partly to reaffirm that we are on the same team. I think the real reason was that these are the moments of our lives, and I don’t want to miss them.

Teaching my daughters to drive is a moment I don’t want to ever forget. And these kinds of moments happen all the time, if we slow down enough to notice, appreciate, and enjoy them.

I did barter a bit for help with the dishes when we got back home. As we stood at the sink, she began singing a depressing Taylor Swift song. I like Taylor, but that song was too much to take at close range. I said, “Sing something positive,” and she began singing “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” the old Elvis song, but in a way that I had never heard. It was just beautiful, and I told her so.

She said that it was from a commercial, and watching it with her was another life moment together.

Click below to see the video, and look for your life moments to share with those you love. They are all around you.