(A gross mischaracterization, as so many of my colleagues have mobile practices but I’m short on energy and imagination this morning)
I know I’ve said this many times, but driving doesn’t bother me at all - as a matter of fact, I find it relaxing… we committed to a “life of driving” when we moved out here in the boonies, since it’s a bare minimum half-hour to get to the grocery store and about 45 minutes to drive into Big D.
So it’s not the time spent driving that bothers me at all - it’s time wasted in TRAFFIC! These problems have grown exponentially in the DFW area over these past 10-15 years, but I’m dismayed to see it spreading out into our area. I had my entire day planned around leaving the clinic at 5 PM to get to Comanche a little bit after 7:00; however, I hit a snag near Alvarado with a series of traffic lights that took me a good solid 15 minutes to get past. I have not driven through these parts during rush hour and I could not believe the sheer volume of traffic! By the time I struggled through to Glen Rose - still over an hour from my destination! my navigation timer was telling me I would arrive at 7:45. It hardly seemed worth it to drive almost 5 hours, and then my son called. I made a snap decision to renounce my quest & go back to see my son - the living taking precedence over the dead. (Yeah, I know the funeral arrangements are for friends and family - it’ll certainly make no difference to ME once I’m gone, how many people show up to weep over my casket)
51 minutes to drive back to see my son - I don’t regret this one bit. I’ve been worried about him and mom just needed some reassurance. As it was, I got home about 10 o’clock - whereas if I had pushed on to Comanche and left there a few minutes after 8 PM, I wouldn’t have gotten back home till almost 11 PM. No bueno when I’ve got a full schedule today; I still need to carefully marshal my time and energy.
Zach swears that this will be the week he makes those hard decisions about downsizing his collection - I keep on extending the deadline. I brought Bonnie the tegu home with me because she has not been eating. I’m getting ready to try her on a new pate of dog food and vegetables.
I also love to drive. I have driven since I was 16 and enjoy it as long as the weather isn't bad and the traffic isn't bad. It is a given as we live 5.5 miles to the closest "civilization" - on the interstate, and the closest state highway, a 428 population village with a Dollar General, convenience store, our post office, an ice cream shop, a community center, bank, funeral home, fire station, school, church, Altofer, senior housing, water office, antique store, Frito-Lay Warehouse, motel, nursery, orchard, T.V. hospital, Gunshop, Auto sales, storage units, overhead door company, hair salon, fiberglass pool place, and a horse trailer conversion place. The closet place to really shop it about 8 miles from there. 12 miles to a Walmart.
ReplyDeleteI love Bonnie. I hope Zack is doing okay. Hugs.
Yes, I was really worried about Z as he texted me yesterday for insurance info, then I saw he visited the Urgent-Care clinic? Turns out he overslept for a test, and had to "game the system" somewhat to have an acceptable excuse for his professor (face palm). Oh well, as long as he keeps trying I will too!
DeleteI'm not as much an enthusiastic driver these days. I don't trust the cataracts. Growing up in Nebraska, and with a long-driving relationship with the father of my son, I used to drive a LOT as a younger woman. One time on a trip together, we drove from the Rocky Mountain state park, home to Lincoln, Nebraska, by way of Topeka, Kansas... in one day. It was a long drive, but we were younger!
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