Image by Sarah May Scott

Sometimes in life you really have to do things you don’t want to do. And after getting into a car accident last year driving is something I really didn’t want to do. I usually live in the city so having a car is unnecessary. I haven’t been confronted with my choice of not driving until this past week. Unfortunately, someone close to me is in the hospital and I’m staying on my family farm for a few weeks. The only choice to get there is to drive a vehicle.

I drove on the highway for the first time in 13 months on Monday of this week. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. The weather was good, roads were dry and clear, but it was quite windy. Every time the wind made the truck shake I thought I was going to get into an accident, which didn’t make for a very pleasant trip. I self-talked and breathed my way into London and back. Tuesday it was a little easier, although still extremely unpleasant and Wednesday was the same.

I think that the secret to overcoming this challenge is the same as a lot of other challenges. It gets easier with practice. The knowledge that in an instant my vehicle could be a crumpled piece of metal still lives within every fiber of my being, but I know that some things can’t be helped and I have to get where I’m going. All you can do is be confident that you know what you’re doing and take proper precautions. Driving is a confidence game just like life is. If you don’t step back up to the plate after your confidence gets shaken, you’re never going to get anywhere new. Hopefully some day I might actually enjoy driving again too.