Friday 17 June 2011

No handbrake turns today

After a couple of hours at the supermarket with an unusually impeccably behaved Dolly, when we got to the top of our driveway, I rewarded her by letting her sit on my lap at the wheel, and 'drive' us the rest of the way home. I somehow knew she would relish this.

There she sat with two hands firmly on the steering wheel, she checked her rearview mirror, did some movement with the gear stick and then assertively said 'Go Mummy'.

I know that Dolly has only just turned two, but it took me right back to the days when I first learnt to drive. My brother, who is 18 months younger than me, taught me in a field when I was 14 (which made him about 12). This is what us country folk did back then - we didn't have anything else to do, other than terrorise sheep in fields by skidding and bombing around, doing handbrake turns, with windows down and some dodgy 90s track blasting out; 'All That She Wants' by Ace of Base springs to mind - I seem to remember listening to this song a lot in my Electric Blue Ford Escort car - the love of my life.

I very slowly took my foot off the brake and we began sedately meandering our way down the muddy track. 'GO FASTER MUMMY' Dolly bellowed. 'This is quite fast enough my darling' I said.

12 comments:

Irene said...

Dolly is quite assertive for a two year old. She'll be driving way ahead of the legal age. She'll have you worried yet. Is she learning to drive a stick shift?

Elsie Button said...

Hi Nora, yep she'll probably be bombing round the fields on a tractor by age 8 - she loves any large monstrous vehicle - for her the car is rather tame.

Nel said...

That takes me back to the happy days of driving around the school car park with my dad.... though I was 16 at the time!! Good on you Dolly.

Elsie Button said...

Hi nel, yes happy days! X

peachy said...

up on the mountain by any chance?!

mummymummymum said...

Ahhh Ace of Base....I loved them.

'I saw the sign'

xx

Elsie Button said...

Hi Peachy, how did you guess?!

Hi Mummymum, Yay - I saw the sign - that's a blast from the past too :)

sarah said...

Brilliant! Ace of Base were fabulous back in the day. Luckily my son's dad is a driving instructor so I'll skip this kind of trauma ;)

Victoria said...

I loved that ace of base tune!!!! Adrenelin junkies eh!!!

Elsie Button said...

Hi Sarah, that is handy! i didn't think the driving lessons would start quite so soon :)

Elsie Button said...

Hi Mrs Scruff, Yes! - the perfect music to skidding around a field and being 'cool'

Sparx said...

Oh, you're a great Mum. My brother let Charlie 'drive' his posh sports car around the underground parking lot for a few minutes last year... Charlie has never forgotten this, it was a huge huge treat...