More happy news today! After multiple attempts, I finally passed my road skills test. :-D Good thing too, my learner's permit was due to expire 11 days from today. My state does not renew permits, so besides the immeasurable relief and satisfaction passing the test today meant I saved $50 (the fee for a new learner's permit)!
It's taken me about a decade to get to this point. (First time I took the written test to try to get my permit was in 2003, but I failed and wasn't able to coordinate another attempt until July (or August?) 2007.
~2 months after passing the written permit test I found out I was pregnant. I managed to do driver's ed before my daughter was born, but I wasn't able to log driving practice. So my permit expired and a couple years passed before I could take the written test again. I passed and learned my permit was good for 2 years this time. I finished logging driving practice the first year but had trouble arranging a time to take the road skills test.
I learned I was pregnant again and managed two attempts (failed on parallel parking both times within the first 8 minutes of the test. :( ) before my younger daughter was born. (One test I had scheduled I wound up not going to the MVA at all- the Maryland equivalent of the DMV- because I was 9 months pregnant and thought I was in labor. It was a false alarm, but my daughter was born exactly one week later.) I tried a third time at a different branch, but failed again. So today I went to a third branch that was much quieter than the one nearer my home. (It also had a practice area on site which was enormously helpful.)
So 10 years, 2 permits, 6 scheduled road tests (one canceled, one missed, three failed and today's attempt), 2 kids later,with many, MANY hours of practice, and the help of several gracious friends has allowed me to achieve this new milestone!
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