Learner’s Permit

As if this week wasn’t crazy enough, D-man and I were at the DMV at 7:00 this morning to get his learner’s permit. I had training at 8:30 so I was a bit worrried about the lines, but we walked right in and up to the counter. On the drive to the DMV, I was chatting with D-man about how hard this would be if we were living in a hotel and down on our luck. How do you prove your physical address if you don’t have a permanent home? How do you pay the fee? After we did the paperwork, we sat down and waited for D-man to take his picture. 

Coincidentally, while D-man was getting his picture taken, a homeless man walked in with his backpack. On one side of the room, I’m watching my privileged son, who is able to walk in with his passport with stamps from across the globe, get his picture taken so he can start to drive. On the other side of the room, I hear a homeless man telling the clerk he is trying to get off the streets and needs an ID to get a job. He’s shaking and pulling out papers he’s gotten from the local homeless shelter so he can try and get out of his current situation. I don’t know if he got his ID or not, but the entire experience really moved me.  

Maybe I’m exhausted. Maybe I’m feeling extremely fortunate after an inspiring week. Maybe it was a way for D-man to see my words about life being hard in real life. Maybe I needed reminding that as hard as it is to see the boys grow up, we are giving them a strong pad from which to launch.  And, maybe I just needed a reminder of our good fortunes. Whatever the reason, it is yet another good reminder of the perspective needed throughout this life journey. And the next step of this journey is D-man learning to drive. Hang on.