Monday, October 24, 2022

October 24, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. Driving.

Driving is almost a right of passage into being an adult.  You get a driver's license around 16 years of age. And you drive for the rest of your life.  Of course, if you are brought up in New York you never learn to drive.  A friend in Nova Scotia is a terrible driver because he lived and worked in New York city.  When he retired to Nova Scotia, he needed to drive.  But I do not like to drive with him.

When my eyes went wonky and I was not able to drive, I had no problem turning the driving over to Ken. Most folks have great anxiety when they are not able to drive.  It is a traumatic event in their life, perhaps because they resist getting too old to drive.  But much to my surprise, I had no trouble at all.  When Ken was ill, we used the helpers get us to the appointments.  And when Ken died, I hired a helper.  And my grand niece Alana set me up with Lyft.  Now I have my own Lyft driver, Chris.  It is like having my own chauffeur.  I text him at the beginning of the week and let him know when I need to be driven.  And he appears at my door at the right time.  It is almost better than driving myself.

My brother Dave has been urged by his family to stop driving.  He has neuropathy feet and even though his eyes are good, he has no feeling in his feet.  So at the moment, his car sits in his garage and his family members drive him to appointments.  He is much more bothered by not driving than I ever was.  He says that it is a nuisance not to be able to go to the store anytime he wishes.  So he will either get used to the idea of not driving and be happy or he will install hand controls for his car.  We will see what he decided to do.  But for me, I am happy with my helper and my Lyft driver driving me.  And I feel fortunate.

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