PAGE 10 Thursday, October 12, 2023 MERIDIAN SOURCE
Viewpoint Border Banter with Benoit-Leipert:
5921-50 Avenue, Lloydminster, SK S9V 2A4 Phone: 306-825-5111 Toll Free: 1-800-327-3899 | Fax: 306-825-5147 meridiansource.ca Mail: Box 2454, Lloydminster, SK S9V 1W5 Hours: 8AM to 5PM Monday to Friday The MERIDIAN SOURCE is published once a week, on Thursday. All material printed in the Meridian Source is copyright and may not be copied or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. The Meridian Source reserves the right to refuse publication of any advertising or editorial material at its discretion. Columns and letters are the expressed view of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Meridian Source. Editor Taylor Weaver taylor@meridiansource.ca
Staff Writer Geoff Lee geoff@meridiansource.ca Staff Writer Jeannette Benoit Leipert jeannette@meridiansource.ca Marketing Manager Deanna Wandler deanna@meridiansource.ca Marketing Consultant Ashley Miazga ashley@meridiansource.ca Marketing Consultant Cory Harvie cory@meridiansource.ca Publisher: Reid Keebaugh Production Manager: Amanda Richard Distribution: distribution@meridiansource.ca CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING admin@meridiansource.ca NEWSPAPER DELIVERY If you’ve missed a paper, to start or stop delivery, or for carrier applications, please call 306-825-5111 for information. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We welcome letters to the editor. Letters should be 500 words or less. A name and daytime phone number is required for verification. Priority will be given to letters exclusively written for the Meridian Source. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, spelling, grammar, punctuation and libel. Unsigned letters will not be published. Use of pseudonyms will only be allowed in special circumstances, at the discretion of the editor and the publisher, and only if the author’s identity is known to the editor. Publication of a letter does not imply endorsement by the Meridian Source. Send to taylor@meridiansource.ca
2017
Learning to drive is no joke My daughter recently got her Alberta learner’s permit. It was an exciting day! She wrote the test at the nearest registry agency to our house, which is in Dewberry. I told her if she passed, I’d let her drive home to Clandonald. On the highway. Taking both our lives into her hands, quite literally. Not to mention anyone else in the wrong place at the wrong time. I forgot how much learning it actually takes to become a confident, yet cautious driver. I’ve had my driver’s license since the day I turned 16. As a farm girl, it was the key that unlocked my social life. And as Jenaya so often reminds me—I am old, so I’ve been driving for about 23 years. Most of the kilometres I’ve logged in the past 15 years or so are thanks to Jenaya and her four brothers. All three of her older brothers are now fairly experienced drivers, and Jenaya and Noah look up to them big-time. They had a good teacher. My husband has had his class 1 license for many years, and he’s WAY less of a stress-case than I am. They’ve all done well on the road, even though it was hard to let go at first. We were so excited for them when they got their driver’s licenses, but that nagging anxiety in my mom brain was pretty intense at first. I always encouraged them to drive defensively, as they never know what they might encounter out there. Wildlife, drunk drivers, RCMP. Their vehicle insurance is expensive enough without any tickets! As Jenaya and I left
the registry office I noticed she had a tenand-two death-grip on the wheel. She nervously drove down main street Dewberry and I decided she should do some more “village” and “hamlet” driving before heading out on the highway. I decided to practise defensive parenting that day! I didn’t want to discourage her, but truthfully she looked quite relieved as she put it in park so that we could switch seats. I adjusted my seat back to the point where I wasn’t breaking teeth on my knees, and we hit the highway.
That day she drove to our house from the edge of our hamlet. I breathed a silent sigh of relief when she put it in park. Since then she has been driving at least a couple times a week, and I see improvement each time. I think her
biggest enemy is her nerves, and it probably makes things worse when I grip the grab handle above the passenger door. I’m slowly learning too, learning how to mask my anxiety. I think it’s time she went out for a cruise with her dad!
