I know what you did last summer.

I don't consider myself a pro at driving stick shift by any stretch of one's imagination, but I will say...I have certainly come a long way. What is so interesting is that I've driven an automatic car from when I was 16 years old until last summer. Yet in my dreams, whenever I'm driving a car, it's always a stick shift. Last summer Tom decided that I should learn because he has a manual car and what if something were to happen to him and I needed to drive his car? Good point, but it didn't make the learning process any easier.

So it was summer - the weather was nice and I had free time in the evenings. After dinner, Tom would ask, "So do you want to practice driving?" Do I *want* to? No. To be honest, I'd rather eat ice cream, go for a walk, or see a summer blockbuster. And it wasn't like each practice session would encourage me to keep practicing. Oh no, it was just the opposite! Learning to drive stick shift (in a real life setting) was one of the biggest stressors of my life and I would dread each time I was asked to drive. There were many sessions where I would end up in tears, and asking Tom why he made me do this, not to mention that my confidence in driving any car was shot.

But Tom is a patient man and knew better. Eventually I improved, my confidence level increased, and the thought of driving his car no longer frightened me. But for the longest time I refused to drive without Tom in the car; he was like my security blanket. And now, you'll see me cruising around by myself in his little red Miata...smiling.