Now Trackable on AT&T: Our First Driver

Somewhere around 12:00pm CDT this afternoon, August 8, 2011, our son, our eldest, took the car out by himself for the very first time.  I am happy to say he made it to school and back safely, with a stop, of course, at the drive-thru at McDonald’s.  Driving makes one hungry, I guess.

I know he made it to school, because I am now able to track him via his mobile phone, for the low, low, low cost of $9.95 per month with AT&T.  (Thank goodness your parents couldn’t do that, right?)

As I consider our eldest getting his license and driving away, I’m not going to write about how he was born seemingly yesterday.  I’m not going to lament the cost of insurance ($83 per month, if you are interested).

I’m not going to write about how Mrs. Spidey and I now worry minute-by-minute when he’s out, and I’m not going to celebrate that he can now shuttle our 13-year-old around instead of us.

Wait.  Yes.  I will celebrate/am celebrating that he can now shuttle our 13-year-old around instead of us.  I shouldn’t forget that.

Now that I’ve celebrated, I’ll tell you what I’m thinking.

I’m thinking this is a rite of passage that we’ve all been through as 16-year-old kids.

I’m thinking about how my brave, brave mother took me for my license on my birthday and then let me take the car to school that day.

I’m thinking that I survived learning how to drive while making some mistakes.

I’m thinking my mother and father survived four kids getting driver’s licenses and making mistakes.

I’m thinking this is an exciting time for our son and for Mrs. Spidey and me.  In many ways, we both get freedom.

The primary difference is that his freedom is trackable on my iPhone via AT&T.