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So...my sister was nearly sideswiped today while driving through the college.
It was partly her fault, partly my mom's fault, and partly the fault of the guy who nearly hit us but I don't really blame him.
My sister didn't check close enough to make certain no one was coming up behind us, and wasn't able to judge where he was going to be going and how fast he was going to get there. The guy was going too fast anyway, but I don't really blame him because he was going about the same speed my mom does driving through that place - a little over the speed limit. And he didn't know he was dealing with someone who's only been driving for less than a week. So we were nearly hit, and my mom started yelling, telling my sister to go down one lane and then changing her mind and yelling at her even louder to pull into the other lane, freaking out my sister (who was, I can assure you, freaking out enough at this point) into bumping the curb. It wasn't anything bad, but after the near-miss it definitely didn't help matters.
Well, we got out of there okay, and my sister found a parking lot so Mom could trade places with her an drive home.
Then my mom made absolutely sure that my sister knew it had been her entire fault.
I was in the backseat this entire time, and was on the side that had nearly been sideswiped. I saw the car flash past. I was shaking a bit. I don't have a clue how my sister felt, but I was shaking and I wasn't the one behind the wheel. I can imagine. The fact that I had to run interference to keep my mom off my sister's back didn't help matters.
I know driving is very dangerous. I know it's not really something you can afford to make mistakes in. I know our truck right now is really the only one we've got. I know my sister is as ridiculously cocky as I am ridiculously cautious at times, and I know that you've already admitted - repeatedly - that you don't like her. I don't really agree with the last part and it sort of makes me respect you less as a parent considering how much gossip I've heard from you about the other members of this household, but for the most part I understand where you're coming from.
Still.
My sister and I haven't been driving a week. We're going to make mistakes. It's inevitable. That doesn't mean that we're definitely going to crash, because I know plenty of people who've been three years with their actual license and haven't crashed once yet, but there are going to be some close calls, whether they be with bushes or curbs or those random poles that jump out of the middle of nowhere at you in parking lots. If you're going to teach your kids how to drive, you can't go yelling at them when they have these close calls, no matter how scared you're feeling at the time. You're only going to make that close call an actual accident by freaking out the person holding the wheel by confusing them and, just in general, startling them into reacting. Possibly in the wrong direction.
I know my sister's a pain in the neck more often than not, and that that was a bad situation. I spend more time with her than you, and I was the one who was inches away from taking the worst of the hit. I know.
I also know she's fifteen years old and that she just had the fright of her life today. I also know that the only thing you did was drive us home, making certain my sister knew it was her fault, treateing her like she was in trouble, ranting about her behind her back, and then leavingher alone to deal with it. No, "we'll do better next time," or, "okay, nothing happened this time. How do we make sure that doesn't happen again?" or even a, "are you okay?"
No, the first thing you do is yell at her. Which is understandable in a way because you were startled and you're human. That doesn't necessarily make it okay, but it's understandable.
And then you decided that the best way to handle this was to make her feel worse.
Great. Yeah. She was already struggling not to cry and shaking, why not heap some more weight onto her shoulders? That'll fix everything.
It probably is a good thing you call that family friend who's been wanting to teach us, because I don't know exactly how I would have reacted to you yelling at me if I'd had a near-hit like that, except that I either would have been okay or I would have freaked out worse than my sister.
I really don't want to find out.
So, yeah, two times today I've nearly been in a car-related incident because of my sister's driving. First time when she forgot I was in the doorway and started pulling forward (you can bet I've never moved that fast before in my life) and then the second time when we were nearly sideswiped. So, yeah, I get where my mom's coming from because my sister's a bit too comfortable behind the wheel for her own good at this point and not cautious enough to think through everything. At the same time, my mom has a serious dislike of my sister and doesn't exactly make things easier on her.
I love my family.
\o/
....
Probably makes sense that I passed out trying to do my Trig homework and slept for three hours. Stressful day was a bit stressful!
It was partly her fault, partly my mom's fault, and partly the fault of the guy who nearly hit us but I don't really blame him.
My sister didn't check close enough to make certain no one was coming up behind us, and wasn't able to judge where he was going to be going and how fast he was going to get there. The guy was going too fast anyway, but I don't really blame him because he was going about the same speed my mom does driving through that place - a little over the speed limit. And he didn't know he was dealing with someone who's only been driving for less than a week. So we were nearly hit, and my mom started yelling, telling my sister to go down one lane and then changing her mind and yelling at her even louder to pull into the other lane, freaking out my sister (who was, I can assure you, freaking out enough at this point) into bumping the curb. It wasn't anything bad, but after the near-miss it definitely didn't help matters.
Well, we got out of there okay, and my sister found a parking lot so Mom could trade places with her an drive home.
Then my mom made absolutely sure that my sister knew it had been her entire fault.
I was in the backseat this entire time, and was on the side that had nearly been sideswiped. I saw the car flash past. I was shaking a bit. I don't have a clue how my sister felt, but I was shaking and I wasn't the one behind the wheel. I can imagine. The fact that I had to run interference to keep my mom off my sister's back didn't help matters.
I know driving is very dangerous. I know it's not really something you can afford to make mistakes in. I know our truck right now is really the only one we've got. I know my sister is as ridiculously cocky as I am ridiculously cautious at times, and I know that you've already admitted - repeatedly - that you don't like her. I don't really agree with the last part and it sort of makes me respect you less as a parent considering how much gossip I've heard from you about the other members of this household, but for the most part I understand where you're coming from.
Still.
My sister and I haven't been driving a week. We're going to make mistakes. It's inevitable. That doesn't mean that we're definitely going to crash, because I know plenty of people who've been three years with their actual license and haven't crashed once yet, but there are going to be some close calls, whether they be with bushes or curbs or those random poles that jump out of the middle of nowhere at you in parking lots. If you're going to teach your kids how to drive, you can't go yelling at them when they have these close calls, no matter how scared you're feeling at the time. You're only going to make that close call an actual accident by freaking out the person holding the wheel by confusing them and, just in general, startling them into reacting. Possibly in the wrong direction.
I know my sister's a pain in the neck more often than not, and that that was a bad situation. I spend more time with her than you, and I was the one who was inches away from taking the worst of the hit. I know.
I also know she's fifteen years old and that she just had the fright of her life today. I also know that the only thing you did was drive us home, making certain my sister knew it was her fault, treateing her like she was in trouble, ranting about her behind her back, and then leavingher alone to deal with it. No, "we'll do better next time," or, "okay, nothing happened this time. How do we make sure that doesn't happen again?" or even a, "are you okay?"
No, the first thing you do is yell at her. Which is understandable in a way because you were startled and you're human. That doesn't necessarily make it okay, but it's understandable.
And then you decided that the best way to handle this was to make her feel worse.
Great. Yeah. She was already struggling not to cry and shaking, why not heap some more weight onto her shoulders? That'll fix everything.
It probably is a good thing you call that family friend who's been wanting to teach us, because I don't know exactly how I would have reacted to you yelling at me if I'd had a near-hit like that, except that I either would have been okay or I would have freaked out worse than my sister.
I really don't want to find out.
So, yeah, two times today I've nearly been in a car-related incident because of my sister's driving. First time when she forgot I was in the doorway and started pulling forward (you can bet I've never moved that fast before in my life) and then the second time when we were nearly sideswiped. So, yeah, I get where my mom's coming from because my sister's a bit too comfortable behind the wheel for her own good at this point and not cautious enough to think through everything. At the same time, my mom has a serious dislike of my sister and doesn't exactly make things easier on her.
I love my family.
\o/
....
Probably makes sense that I passed out trying to do my Trig homework and slept for three hours. Stressful day was a bit stressful!