The Fall of Driving

This is certainly Halloween, because there is a fall yet blessing that is haunting me right now. Despite that it happened four months ago, this experience is not something that has not been easy for me to let go and I don't think that it will never leave me.

To begin with, many of you will be shocked to realize that I don't drive. Yes, I'm seven years late in the driving world since most people get their license at sixteen. The opinions I get are a mix of understanding, shock, pity, disgust and annoyance. So at the time of the experience, I was more attuned with those opinions then my own, therefore I attempted two driving lessons to hopefully eliminate some of the reactions. The first lesson was okay, it was the second one where everything went downhill.

The end of the lesson was near, and the instructor told me to take an exit off the highway. As I mentioned, it is hard for me to process spatial information and motor skills at the same time, so I miscalculated the turn and the next thing I knew that car was speeding towards the exit sign like a demon was after it.

Luckily, the instructor had controls and was able to stop the car. He was surprisingly calm about the situation, and helped me back up the car and turn off the exit. Me on the other hand, I was a wreck. My hands had gone sheet white because I gripped the wheel so hard, I was trembling uncontrollably and could hear my chattering teeth. After I got home from that lesson, I vowed to stay off the road for a long time.

I can relate this experience to falling off a horse twice, the first time I bruised my ribs and the second time I broke my hand. Yet I did not get back on when others wanted me to, I got back on when I wanted to. I realize now that I had forgotten about my prior falls when I nearly crashed into the exit sign, and now I realize that it was a blessing because it reminded me that I need to take on driving when I'm ready, and not do it because of the opinions of others. Do I have to learn how to do it? Yes, but can I do it because others want to me to? No. When I get behind the wheel, it is because I am one hundred percent in it and ready.

I hope that after reading this, you can look back on a fall of yours and find a blessing in it. It is not easy, but in the end these kinds of falls happen for a reason. Thank you for taking the time to read this and Happy Halloween.

Warm regards,

Meghan.