He Did It!

Well, J. turned 15 yesterday. His dad picked him up early from school and took him to the driving center at Straw Plains so he could take the written test for his permit. Not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

In this day and age, you've got to have everything except a DNA sample to get the permit. He had to have Social Security cards, birth certificate, truancy forms, a bill with an address on it, etc. Remember the days when you showed up, filled out the form, took the eye test and off you went?

So J., who has done nothing but yak on and on and on for months about getting his permit, gets called up, takes his eye test and in he goes for the computer part of the exam. J. has taken the online tests about a zillion times in the last few months, so I felt pretty confident he would be okay.

J. called me about 45 minutes after his dad picked him up and told me he had missed 6, one more than the allotted amount, and would have to come back next week and take it again. He said he was disappointed, but it would be okay. So I said, "Okay, let me talk to Dad." So Joe gets on the phone and says, "He's lying. He got it!" Woohoo, I said -- Not for me, because the thought of being anywhere in the same city while J. is in control of a vehicle causes heart palpitations -- for J., because he was marking a HUGE milestone in his life.

So when he got home, he did this stupid little grin (and spastic dance) and held his permit up beside his face and I just had to snap the picture. He looked like such a dufus, but he was 100% content with the world at that moment and that's why it's one for the books.

Later we had a family party with a big chocolate chip cookie, ice cream and lots of *teenage appropriate* gifts. Everyone left around 9:00 and we began the clean-up process. J. picked up all of his presents, straightened the living room, never letting the smile leave his lips. He told his dad it was a "good day". And it was...for all of us!

Happy Birthday, Little J.!