not to us

We went out to dinner tonight.  Before going to the restaurant, we needed to pick up Nonna from work.

Poppa, Ruby, Burke, and I loaded into the van.  

As a note: I still get a little nervous driving with my dad in the car.  He's a little...  Hmm...  Shall we say, picky?  Yes, he's a little picky when it comes to driving.  I still panic a little bit when I get ready to turn onto a new road.  Are you supposed to break before the turn? During the turn?  Not at all?  I don't know.  And on the highway...  Goodness, gracious!  Do not slow down. DO. NOT. SLOW. DOWN.  Use the left lane to pass a car and then get your butt back over into the right lane.  And don't hold the steering wheel in a death grip, okay?  You really only need two fingers to steer anyway...

Anyway, for the most part, I don't get too nervous driving by myself.  But when my dad is in the car, I get a little antsy.  (I know.  It's ridiculous.)

So, we're driving to get Mom from work, and we come up on a stoplight.  Then!  It turns yellow.  I'm going too fast to stop, but too slow to get through.  Grr...  So I choose to hit the brakes and stop.

Obviously, I brake hard.  The van jerks.

And from the back seat, we hear Burke say, "Whoa!"  In his tiny little adorable cutest-boy-in-the-world voice, he judges my driving abilities.  Dad and I giggle.  Whew!  Crisis averted.

Not two miles further into our trip, I go too fast over a pair of railroad tracks.  The swagger wagon's not exactly equipped for off-roading, so we bump up and down a little bit.

And from the back seat, we hear Ruby say, "That's why we need to wear seatbelts!"  Again, Dad and I laugh.  By this point, it's a small miracle that I'm still driving.  (I'm really not even joking.)

We get to the hospital, and we have to wait a few minutes for Mom to come down.  But that's a good thing!  It gives me a few minutes to calm down and prepare for the journey to the restaurant.

We made it without further incident, but I didn't drive the rest of the night.  :)

At the ripe ages of 3 and almost-2, I've already got a critical pair of backseat drivers.  I'm a lucky, lucky Momma.  Snort.

How about you?  Do you like to drive, or do you happily relinquish the responsibility whenever you're given the opportunity?