Today as I was driving home on my 1/2-hour commute, I was thinking how far I'd come in my confidence as a driver. When I started this job 2 1/2 years ago I was very, very scared to have to drive on the freeway. So scared, as a matter of fact, that I probably prayed 20 min. of the 30 min. drive to and from work that I would get there and back safely. I wasn't necessarily scared of the other drivers, though that was a mild concern; rather, I was scared of my own inadequacy as a driver as well as my poor night vision. (I originally worked 3pm-11:30 pm.) The bright shining lights at night were terrifying enough to keep me in the far right lane right at 65 mph.
Why was I so afraid of driving on the freeway? You see, I come from a very small town, called Snowflake, AZ, wherein we had no stoplights. All roads but Main Street were back roads, or so it seemed. The roads were very wide and roomy (something I still marvel at every time I go home), and it was never super crowded.
One day as my dad and I were driving down the road he started crossing over the middle line. (He was probably dancing to the music as he often does...what a fun and charismatic man he is...maybe not the most careful driver, but fun nonetheless. hehe.) Though there was no oncoming traffic, I felt obligated to say the obvious. As I pointed out his momentary cross over the middle line he jokingly replied, "That's ok. I pay taxes for both sides of the road." Haha.
Luckily I no longer confine myself to the far right (though I try to stay in my lane), and I rarely give a second thought to driving on the freeway. I still don't enjoy driving at nights with lights blaring at me, so I am grateful I work days. Maybe one day I'll even be able to drive more than 2 hours at a time! Though I am confident in my ability to drive decently, I am not confident in my ability to stay awake longer than 2 hours. (Thank heavens I have a husband who doesn't mind driving the whole way...)
In conclusion, though I've decided it's probably not the best thing to drive in the middle of the road, I do think it's a good place to live your life. You know, somewhere in between extremes; somewhere you can see both sides and take a little bit of both to make a balanced life.
7 comments:
Hey Celia, I love the blog thing. My family started one at the begining of the year and its been great. I am excited now to have another to read. Great thoughts. Nanci
This is my first experience with Blogging. I'm grateful it has nothing to do with Clogging - something that is a somewhat embarassing childhood memory in my life. Looks interesting anyway - Thanks for the invite to read. Chantelle
HAHA. Clogging. I had forgotten you lived through that too. No, though I did clog at one point in my life, I doubt I will ever post about it. (besides this post that is.)
Silly Marie--
Yeah, your own blog. I look forward to keeping in touch with you and Brother Steed through this medium.
Haha. I don't if Bro. Steed will be contributing much seeing as though he's little opposed to blogging. When I told him I started this he just skimmed through the post. Hehe. Just not his thing I guess.
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That's okay--this way you can give us the dirt on him and he'll never know. Joke's on him.
I can definitely identify with the inadequate driving thing. I didn't know how to drive on the freeway until I was 21 thanks to the between-freeways place that we grew up in. I'm still not the best driver, but ever since I mastered driving on the left side of the road in England I am confident in most driving situations now. I am still a little scared to drive in Snowflake though. No stoplights is a little scary sometimes.
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