Here’s a photo of my son, buckling up before his first solo car drive:

The good news: he has a job so he can help pay for gas. The bad news: our car insurance rates doubled… and my heart rate tripled. I suppose it’s just the first in a series of “letting go” moments. Soon he’ll be heading off to college. Then moving out of the house permanently after college (at least we hope so). Then starting a life of his own, where his parents merely make cameo appearances. There’s not much we can do about it – he’s in the driver’s seat.

Oh, and if you see a blue, 2003 Honda Odyssey on the road in the eastern part of Cincinnati, with a bunch of school stickers on the back and some rock music cranked up really high, you might want to give the car a wide berth.