the fender-benders are going to break her bank account. she hit the car in the driveway as she was pulling out of the garage. damage to one car: mirror ($150), damage to the other car: dent + paint scrapes ($600!). since we pay gas and insurance, the deal was that she pays parking and any tickets or damage. that's more than she earned last summer.
ok, we're not really going to fix at the $600 rate when we can get it buffed and touched up to prevent the rust for $75. it's a 10-year-old car. but she's got to figure that had the car been someone else's, she'd be paying what the body shop called the "insurance estimate". we may even get away with epoxy since the mirror is still functioning (though we did order the replacement mirror since eventually it will fall off for real).
I think she should go back to getting on a bus in the morning. I don't mind her driving to events after school, swimming, evening things -- she seems more alert at those times. this is her second mirror in 6 months and both were before 7am. I think that taking the bus would reduce her risks significantly.
spring break here: almond joy is off to DC to see colleges with her cousin. ben t. and I are going to take down lots of wallpaper. I'm going to write one online course for summer. it's sunny and the snow is melting. could be good.
reading The Book Thief for book club tomorrow night. I can not get into it. yet.
Knock on wood, Mallory hasn't done anything yet. She's been driving solo for 4 months, and driving altogether for 10 months.
She drives probably 5 or 6 times a week. Mostly errands for us, sometimes to and from her own activity.
She still either rides the bus to school or we drop her off.
I hope when she does have an accident it's like yours. Minor, expensive, but minor.
Posted by: Lisa V | March 15, 2008 at 02:51 PM
Oh, I adore stripping wallpaper! If I lived close by, I'd totally hang out with you all this week. Do you know about the Paper Tiger? Best tool ever for wallpaper removal.
Posted by: What Now? | March 18, 2008 at 09:11 PM