Monday, January 29, 2007

Control Freak

I use to always hate to drive with Dana as one of my passengers because she would always freak out and think I was two seconds away from crashing the car and killing everyone in it. It drove me crazy. Stacey was the same way. She has this thing she does too, where she extends her arm straight out in front of her like she is a policeman trying to stop traffic. Somehow this helps her feel that I am not going to slam into the car in front of me. I never understood why they were like this. Then the unthinkable happened. I became the same way. I have no idea how it happened. Maybe it is from being a passenger (with Quinn) more often than before. But now I hate to sit shot gun. I have turned into the back seat driver crazy person that I always thought Dana and Stacey were. Quinn can attest to this. He does not like to drive with me and usually sets limits that he will only drive if I promise not to freak out. I try my hardest.

Last night, I took a late night shuttle from the airport to the house. A little old man was our driver. He told me to go ahead and jump up front with him. A huge mistake. As soon as I sat down I realized this. I knew that the 45 minute ride would be pure torture because I would not be in control. However, it was too late. I could not jump out of the front seat and get into the back of the van without offending the man. So I endured. I tried close my eyes and not think about it. But that just made it worse. I needed to see where we were going. Needless to say, I was on edge the whole time. Of course, it didn't help that the old man waited until the last possible moment to make all lane changes. I was in constant fear that he would miss all of our turn offs. He did fine. He got me to my house in one piece and in decent time. Bottom line: I need to trust more.

PS: On a side note, both Dana and Stephanie told me today after reading my post, that they think Quinn is a crazy driver too and can understand why I am a back seat driver with him. So no I feel slightly justified in my craziness.

5 comments:

Cara said...

You need to "chi-zill" (a.k.a. chill)

Anonymous said...

Quinn is a great driver. You should ride with his dad. His dad still thinks he is at 35,000 feet when he gets control of a vehicle.

KickButtMommy said...

OH yeah, I will never quite forget my ride to the airport at 5 am on those hilly VA streets with FIL driving the first time I went back. YIKES! Can't say I have ever driven with Quinn behind the wheel. Weird huh? I will say one of my most vivid memories is of my grandma (the worry wart) always saying in a worried whiney voice "Oh Mike" and Grandpa saying "Shut up Alice, I know how to drive." It was quite funny really.

Anonymous said...

Your father was wondering why when he is the passenger offering his helpful suggestions he is told by you to "butt out." I have no worries when I drive with him as far as safety goes but there is a time element involved. He never hurries in a car. KMA

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