I do a lot of driving.  I drive my grandpa to all of his appointments.  I drive friends places.  I don’t mind taking a random, last-minute trip to cities one or two hours away.  But I don’t really like it.  In fact, I would love to have a chauffeur.  I’d call him Jeeves and he’d wear a jaunty hat.

In the mean time, here’s a list of why I don’t like to drive, in no particular order.

1.)  Driving makes me tense.  Life makes me tense, driving just makes it worse–especially if I’m in a lot of traffic.  Seattle and Portland, I’m looking at you.

2.) All of the tension makes me sore.  My neck, lower back, hands.  Driving in rush hour traffic in a downpour.  Oh, and if I’m driving a stick shift, then both of my hips hurt like crazy.

3.) Other drivers.  What’s up with everyone out there on the road?  No blinkers.  Driving under the speed limit in the “fast” lane.  Not driving consistently.  Passing me and slowing down.  Tailgating.

4.) There’s too much to pay attention to.  All those drivers in #3.  Weather.  Exit numbers.  Which street am I turning on?  Why is my GPS taking me this way?  That’s a pretty rainbow.  Why is that man standing in the middle of his yard in that bathrobe?

5.) It’s a lot harder to do some things while driving.  I’m not talking about reading, because there are audio books, so my library takes care of that.  What about when I get hungry?  Have you tried eating a sub sandwich while driving?  I did it once.  Now, it’s mostly snack foods that are easier to eat with one hand.  We can talk about the snack compartment in my car some other time.  It’s also hard to blow your nose while driving.  To do it effectively, you need both hands.  And I can’t even think about when I get an itch on the bottom of my left foot.  I’m not in a place to stop and address that.  And it just drives me nuts!

6.) Backseat drivers.  Need I say more?!

7.) I could be doing more productive things.  I could be writing down all of the things that are going through my head.  I could be working on my novel.  Or I could be sleeping.  (Naps are productive, people.)  I could be working on my current crochet project.

8.) I’m a much better navigator.  Really.  I love maps.  And I enjoying figuring out how to get to wherever I need to go.  Even without my GPS.  Though, I’m super thankful for my GPS.

9.) My hubby has some serious driving skills.  And don’t even get me started on his parking skills.

10.) Sometimes there are so many thoughts going around in my head that just trying to focus on one more thing–the road–is almost overwhelming.  It would be easier to be able to sit and think and sort out everything.  What if I’m so focused on the thoughts in my head that I go past my exit?  Or I end up somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be going?  Like the library instead of the office?  Or that time I forgot to take the exit for Highway 18 and stayed on Interstate 90 all the way through Seattle and that added an extra hour to my already interminable drive.

11.) What could happen in the fraction of a second when I sneeze?  Am I going to accidentally hit something?  Is someone going to hit me?  Am I going to drive off the road or out of my lane?  Not logical.  We can thank anxiety and imagination for that.  (I do have allergies, so I sneeze frequently during high pollen counts.)

Do you like to drive?  Why or why not?  Feel free to comment and discuss.  But please don’t tell me I’m crazy.  I hear that too often.  But that’s another post for another time.