To be true to this story, we really need to start at the beginning. Michellie turned 16 and all h*ll broke loose on this story.
In Alberta a learner's license can be obtained at 14. Michellie accomplished this and completed her driver's ed courses as quick as she could. The instructor loved her driving and she quickly passed through all the skills to drive in Calgary and the Rockies. Fast forward to moving to Cape Breton. In Nova Scotia the learner's license can be obtained when you turn 16. Michellie was able to drive with her Alberta license until we became permanent residents of Nova Scotia and then they would revoke her license. Then we travelled to Montreal to see MacKenzie. While shopping we were pic pocketed and Michellie's wallet was stolen along with her learner's license. We reported the stealing and applied for a new license. The replacement was only good until Michellie's 16th birthday and when we returned to Alberta she could have this changed. Of course we wouldn't be returning, but at least she had her license back.
Michellie drove a bit through the fall and winter until her cancer, and until the late spring she did not have enough strength to hold the steering wheel, let alone drive. Her first time out with Dad was a disaster, and the two of them determined that they needed to take a break from each other and the car. Through the summer David had Michellie up all the dirt roads practicing as she anticipated her birthday. The week before her birthday Mom made a trip to Port Hawksbury to make sure Michellie would be able to transfer over her license and take her driver's. Not wanting any more stress in our lives we wanted to make sure we were doing everything correctly. No problem. They would even give her credit for 2 years of driving with a learners and once she had the Nova Scotia license transferred from the Alberta one on her birthday, she could take the driver's test.
September 18th was on a Sunday, so on Monday the 19th Michellie and David headed to Port Hawksbury to have the Alberta learners transferred to a Nova Scotia learners. This was done and the driver's test was paid for. The day of the test arrived and Michellie and Mom took the morning off school and had Chelsie-Anne in tow. At arriving at the licensing office, Michellie passes the documentation to the tester. She looks at the license and states that it is an expired license and Michellie will have to start the whole process from scratch. You can imagine the look on Michellie's face and then the look on Mom's. The office had given Michellie a learner's with the same expiry as her Alberta license - her 16th birthday. That was 4 days back. There was no budging the tester. Michellie was a mess and this was the ultimate meltdown of 6 months of stress for Mom - she sobbed in the parking lot for 20 minutes before she could get in the car to go home again.
After paying for another learner's test, Michellie took another morning off of school to go to Inverness to write the learners test again. She passes the sign test, but she did not pass the written test. She made silly mistakes on the page and was stressed right out. Deep breath, deep breath - there is not enough Tai Chi in the world for this experience! Michellie decides she would do better to take the learner's test in Sydney with a different tester. So, when driving Chelsie-Anne back to the airport, they stop and do the test again. Success. She gets a new learner's and they will give her acknowledgement of the two years driving experience she already has. So, she just needs to pass the road test.
We wait another week, and then Dad and Michellie take another morning off of work and school to drive to Port Hawksbury to take the test. Michellie is stressed out. Her stomach is cramping before she even gets to PH. Michellie does not pass. She has many errors on her paper and is recommended to have more practice time. Again, there are no words.
Grandpa is here. He has his truck driver's license. He has spent two years upgrading new skills for the road. Grandpa takes Michellie out and challenges her with everything possible. He uses his skills at parallel parking and backing into a stall to assist Michellie's expertise development. She comes home from each practice run with a big smile on her face and a lilt in her step.
So, we are waiting for the right opportunity to take another morning off of school to travel to Inverness or Port Hawksbury to try again. Stay tuned...
For those in Alberta reading this. Be thankful that all driver's lessons and tests can happen after school hours. In Nova Scotia everything must happen between 8 and 3 pm. You have to miss school to take driver training and to do the tests. And, you have to travel to Port Hawksbury or Baddeck to get the license issued, although you can do the test in Inverness and then travel later. Crazy!
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