It's mid-September and temperatures continue to reach into the 90's. I am desperate for a change in seasons. It seems that Fall is taking its sweet time to arrive and I am growing impatient.
My 62nd birthday is just days away. As I was thinking about this particular birthday and the long, hot days of Indian Summer, and my lack of patience, a vivid memory leaped to mind. It was a Friday, September 1969. School had let out for the day and mother picked me up at the high school to take me to get my drivers license. The day was a scorcher, however, it was a game day so I had worn my pep club outfit to school. The outfit consisted of a heavy wool sweater, long sleeve shirt, and a wool skirt. I was hot and uncomfortable. And, as if that wasn't enough, our car had no air conditioning and no power steering.
I was stressed. Hot, miserable, and terrified of the man giving the test, I began to sweat profusely and feel nauseated. But, I was determined to take the test and nothing was going to stop me. Everything was going okay until my attempts to parallel park. It was a disaster and when we arrived back at the tag office, Mr. Test Giver informed me that I had failed to pass the test. I was devastated.
Mother had to drive us home which was not part of my original plan. I sat in the passenger seat and sulked all the way home. I was embarrassed to go home and inform daddy and all my family that I had failed the test. Worse than that, I would have to tell my friends that I had flunked.
But, I was a stubborn kid and I was not going to let this one failure keep me from the thing I wanted more than anything in the world -- and that was a drivers license.
So, several days later and with a little more practice in parallel parking, I believed I was ready to face Mr. Test Giver a second time. On the day of the test, I dressed more appropriate for stress and weather and armed with dogged determination and a strong will to reach my goal, I aced the test.
That was probably one of the first big failures in my life. At the time, little did I know there would be many more failures in my future. I never dreamed that there could even be anything worse than failing a driving test.
I have failed many other tests in my life and some of them are embarrassing and some of them have made me a better person. Some of the tests taught me valuable lessons and some I have actually taken over and over and over again. I guess it all goes to remind me that just because I have failed a few tests along life's way, I am not a failure. In my mind and in my heart, I am the same determined and strong-willed girl that I was back then. With a little luck and a whole lot of faith, I believe I am ready for the next test that life brings my way.
My 62nd birthday is just days away. As I was thinking about this particular birthday and the long, hot days of Indian Summer, and my lack of patience, a vivid memory leaped to mind. It was a Friday, September 1969. School had let out for the day and mother picked me up at the high school to take me to get my drivers license. The day was a scorcher, however, it was a game day so I had worn my pep club outfit to school. The outfit consisted of a heavy wool sweater, long sleeve shirt, and a wool skirt. I was hot and uncomfortable. And, as if that wasn't enough, our car had no air conditioning and no power steering.
I was stressed. Hot, miserable, and terrified of the man giving the test, I began to sweat profusely and feel nauseated. But, I was determined to take the test and nothing was going to stop me. Everything was going okay until my attempts to parallel park. It was a disaster and when we arrived back at the tag office, Mr. Test Giver informed me that I had failed to pass the test. I was devastated.
Mother had to drive us home which was not part of my original plan. I sat in the passenger seat and sulked all the way home. I was embarrassed to go home and inform daddy and all my family that I had failed the test. Worse than that, I would have to tell my friends that I had flunked.
But, I was a stubborn kid and I was not going to let this one failure keep me from the thing I wanted more than anything in the world -- and that was a drivers license.
So, several days later and with a little more practice in parallel parking, I believed I was ready to face Mr. Test Giver a second time. On the day of the test, I dressed more appropriate for stress and weather and armed with dogged determination and a strong will to reach my goal, I aced the test.
That was probably one of the first big failures in my life. At the time, little did I know there would be many more failures in my future. I never dreamed that there could even be anything worse than failing a driving test.
I have failed many other tests in my life and some of them are embarrassing and some of them have made me a better person. Some of the tests taught me valuable lessons and some I have actually taken over and over and over again. I guess it all goes to remind me that just because I have failed a few tests along life's way, I am not a failure. In my mind and in my heart, I am the same determined and strong-willed girl that I was back then. With a little luck and a whole lot of faith, I believe I am ready for the next test that life brings my way.
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