Sobriety and snow

Our daughter got her permit on her birthday, and was itching to drive. We went out on Saturday. She drove a couple parking lots and was doing well enough for me to consider her driving a fairly untraveled road. She was doing pretty well. At one point she turned right on a side road and didn't compensate the steering enough and we found ourselves in on-coming traffic.

I pulled on the wheel to move her over into her lane. Being new to driving she put her foot down on the thing she could feel which was the gas pedal. The car accelerated and we landed in deep snow. Snow dust blasted across the windshield. We were good and stuck and it took some friendly neighbors to help free us.

The deep snow kept us from running into a pole or a fence. It was a valuable lesson learned at a relatively low cost. Not all life's lessons come so cheap. My daughter's itch has been modified by a greater sense of sobriety.

As I see it, part of the maturing process is an increase in sober thinking. Sobriety does not have to rob joy from life, but it can temper it. My daughter increased her driving skills because of her chance encounter with an on-coming truck and a snow bank. I believe balancing enthusiasm with sobriety puts us on the path to competence and wisdom.