Dear Ben

Here we are again, preparing for another birthday.  Tomorrow you will be sixteen.  Finally, after YEARS of loving all things car, you are old enough for your drivers license.  You've already sent in the request for your test date, and although you haven't gotten the appointment information back yet, you are ready.  You have been obsessed with vehicles since your toddler days, when you would drive tractors through the sandbox and race diecast cars up and down the hallway.  You took to driving so easily and your permitted drive hours have been virtually stress-free for your father and me.  I am confident that you are comfortable behind the wheel and I trust that you will be a responsible driver.

However... it is a big milestone to imagine you with this new independence.  You're our baby, and it's hard for me to imagine you driving out of the driveway on your own.  With the ability to drive alone comes so many new responsibilities.  You will be making more decisions on your own, and it will be hard for Daddy and me to adjust.  We will ask you for texts when you leave places and when you arrive to your destination.  We will be wanting to know where you're going and who you're with.  And it isn't because we don't trust you - but rather because we know that you are still learning.  We want you to be accountable for your choices and to know that someone is keeping track of you.  We want you to know that your choices matter, and that most of all - we love you.

Letting a child grow in their independence is hard.  We've spent so much of your life taking care of you, helping to lead you, and hoping that you want our advice.  It's challenging to take a step back and let you make choices that will have real impact in your life, although of course that's fully appropriate now.  You are in your last half of high school, and you need to be taking ownership over your future.  You are deciding what classes to take, how seriously to take your grades, and what college plans to start considering.  Time is going to start flying by, and we can't control everything like we once could or we might want to.  You need to drive the car now.

As you approach this new phase of life, with more freedoms to enjoy and more impactful decisions to be made - be deliberate.  Don't let life happen to you.  Think hard about the consequences of your choices, and choose a path that excites you.  Remember to have fun along the way, prioritizing friendships and new experiences, while balancing your responsibilities.  Grab onto that wheel and steer in the direction you want to go.  

I am so excited to see the road you will travel.

I love you.

Mama