Driving myself sane

Realization #3: I like long drives by myself.

The first question everyone asks me now that I moved is: "How's the drive?" I've been answering it the same way every time I'm asked, "Fine. It's the waking up early that sucks." This still remains true. I enjoy my daily drives. They give me a chance to think, contemplate, etc.

When I was little my mom used to make us take long family drives to the country. "Why?" you ask. "'Cause it's the family thing to do," my mom would reply. Don't worry, I still don't get it either. That was just one of my mom's favorite come backs. Instead of, "Because I said so," she would say, "'Cause it's the family thing to do." Regardless, I HATED those drives. They were pointless! Staring out the window looking at silos & cows as I fight over the back seat with my little brother listening to either talk radio or dad's oldies was not and still is not my idea of a fun nor relaxing time.

When I got older and had access to a car I began to love driving just to escape my parents. Getting out of the house and just being able to drive where ever was such a stress reliever.

When I started pharmacy school my daily commute was about an hour to school and if I was lucky an hour and 15 minutes (depending on traffic) to get back to the lovely south towns. This was when I started to like driving, but not completely. If you've ever been stuck on the 290 in rush hour traffic in inclement weather, then you wouldn't believe me if I said my drives home were always enjoyable. They weren't. I'm not that crazy! Also, this is right around the time that my road rage began. That's one of the downsides to driving a lot.

Now that I've moved to Rochester I've begun to enjoy my daily commute. It's a pretty easy drive. I'm on the 90 for most of it and that's kept up well and on most days traffic flows quite nicely (except for that occasional driver who refuses to move over to the right lane. I mean seriously, has no one ever taught you the ins and outs of courtesy on the highway?) . Of course, there is the chance that I'll hit a deer, spin off the 490 since Rochester doesn't believe in salting it, or have my car burst into flames (I saw that once already on the side of the road, followed by a semi flying down a hill! What are the chances that I'll encounter that again?), but I prefer to stay positive. I find my drive to and from work relaxing (except for the 290 which is still my arch enemy). It gives me time to prepare for my day, or unwind and de-stress from the horrible experiences I've encountered throughout my day.

It's also a good time to weigh decisions I need to make. I still remember my drive to and from Albany when I had to contest my Pharmacy Boards grade. Ten hours alone in a car gives you a lot of time to think about what to do about your boyfriend who left you to backpack around Europe.

See how great long drives are?! You all wanna try it now don't you?!

....Talk to me in a month and I may be singing a different tune.