Undaunted Joy #193
The Joy of Problem Solving
The end is near.
My oldest son is learning to drive.
Soon, he will drive himself to the jujitsu and jazz practice. Maybe he will even drive his younger, although taller, six-foot six-feet on a good day, brother to violin lessons.
This summer, he will drive himself to his internship in East Washington and will be separated from the family for weeks.
One day, he will open the passenger side door, and as he helps a lovely young woman into the car, he will know she is the one he wants to spend the rest of his life loving, protecting and lifting up.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
My oldest son is learning to drive.
No, I’m not teaching him. We all have our gifts, and it is clear to all that the gift of teaching a young man to drive is not mine.
He is learning from the same person who taught me how to drive, his father.
Yes, many years ago, when I was but a young lass of 18, I had still not learned to drive. My mom was a single mother and didn’t have time to teach me and my father was not around. I mentioned my lack of license while hanging out with my group of friends at a local coffee shop. I had just bought a used car, but could not drive it, especially because it was manual.
One of the guys in the group, a guy who had dated one of my friends for a while, but no longer, had been in my theater class the last few years of high school but was now at the local Cal State, said that was ridiculous. He asked what I was doing the next afternoon and when I said nothing, he said he’d pick me up and teach me how to drive.
It wasn’t just that he taught me how to drive, that he explained everything so well and was completely calm and patient. What really impressed me was that there was a problem, and he just fixed it. He didn’t go on about what I should do about it. There was no one to help me. He taught me. He helped me. He just fixed it.
I’d never experienced that before. Most of the people in my life would complain, cry, blame a situation on someone else, maybe even fight about it. But not just fix the situation.
We wouldn’t date until 8 years later. Everyone likes to say he was playing long game and who knows, maybe he was, but he’s the best person to teach a young person how to drive, especially if that person is our sweet baby boy who is now “locked in” and preparing to leave the nest and fly on his own.
He’s learned from his dad, not only how to drive but that we are problems solvers.
Last night, I lamented that there was no available dessert after dinner. My son suggested he pick me up some ice cream. With dad in the passenger seat, he could kill two birds with stone; satiate my sweet tooth and log in some drive time.
If this isn’t the main reason why you want your teen to learn to drive, so that he can pick you up Molly Moon’s ice cream when you are already in your pajamas with a martini in hand, I don’t know what is.
It is true: We are problem solvers.
Drive on!
My book Undaunted Joy: The Revolutionary Act of Cultivating Delight is on sale! I could use a few more reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
Pleased to share my latest Zoom Workshop: Writing the Numinous
Do you find it difficult to capture the mystery of faith into words? In this workshop we will look at authors Mary Karr, Brian Doyle, Kathleen Norris and myself, Shemaiah Gonzalez as guides to write the numinous. You will leave this evening with a list of prompts to take your writing deeper, parting the veil for yourself and your readers.
Details:
+ Monday April 27 4-6pm PST
+ Cost $60
Space is limited and there are already a few sign ups. Hope you will join us.
https://forms.gle/QPB1qrKQtzQ3LQfy6
Find me!
April 15-18 Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing Grand Rapids, MI
On the 17th I’ll be reading with the Whitworth crowd
April 29th 5:30 Hearthside Books, Juneau, AK
April 30-May 3 Retreat at National Shrine of St Therese, Juneau, AK
May 7-May 11 Bethesda/D.C.
June 19-July 2 London, Surrey, Dublin
July 15-19 Winona Christian Writers Conference, Winona Lake, IN
July 28 Whitworth University Spokane, WA
Let me know if you’d like me to speak at your church, school, bookstore, bookclub while I am in your city.
Over the years, I taught my daughter and three sons how to drive. The boys I taught how to drive a manual transmission. My daughter had an automatic to drive and never saw the need. They were good bonding experiences, teaching them that with a little patience and persistence, they could learn to master even the mysteries of parallel parking or four-on-the-floor.
“But I am getting ahead of myself.” Don’t we all. 😂
Dreams of the future are a joy of life.