Flashback

Saturday evening I was going to pick Chandra up for a night out in the Montrose with Karen. I was sitting at a stoplight and noticed the small sign under the light, stating "Left turn only on arrow." I wondered for a minute about how old I would be when I finally couldn't read that little print anymore and suddenly, I was 17 again...

In Texas, when you get your driver's license, you have to renew it when you're 17, and then again at 18. After that, you renew it once more when you turn 21, and then you finally get the long stretches of non-renewal (5 or more years). For some reason, when we turned 17, I went to the DPS with Chandra to get her license renewed.

We stood in line, with her mom, talking and joking and being 17. The renewal process is fairly smooth - you walk up with all the necessary documents (don't ask, I don't remember what they are), they do a quick eye exam, and then you sign some stuff and you're off. Chandra gets up to the front of the line, gives them her paperwork, signs the forms and is about to stick her face in the eye test device. The stations are bolted to the front desk and look like giant, black View Master toys. She gets close, realizes something, and then looks back at her mom and me.

"I forgot to put in my contacts this morning. What do I do?"

The lady at the desk was looking less than patient. Chandra's mom urged her to go ahead and try to get it done anyway. Chandra looked nervous. I was cracking up.

She takes a deep breath and puts her head up to the View Master. I can see her shoulders relax as she realizes that, yes, she CAN see the stuff inside. She starts to read aloud.

"7, 4, 3, 9..."

The lady behind the desk jerks her head toward Chandra and then up at us, rolls her eyes and sighs heavily.

"Honey, those are LETTERS."

We pretty much ran out of the DPS at that point, me hyperventilating from the laughing, and Chandra's mom teasing her about not wearing her contacts. Chandra was more red than I have ever seen her. It was a great day.

Chandra is officially going to be my pace-setter for the sign reading question. When she can no longer read them I'll know that I have a few more years left before my eyes give it up. I'll confirm she is wearing the contacts, though.