Monday, January 10, 2011

in the car

you can't go on thinking nothing's wrong
who's gonna drive you home tonight?
 - "drive," the cars

some days, the weight of the world gets to be too much. lord knows there was a ton of that this weekend. my beloved saints? yeah, we're not going to talk about that. it's cold. i think my body hates me, based on how many varied aches, pains and ailments it's throwing at me. and that's not even getting into the unimaginable sorrow and rage of the attempted assassination of a congresswoman.

so what did i do? i got in the car and went for a drive. ostensibly, it was to run errands; the man needed a key made, but had a call today, so i volunteered to do it. (i am not doing ANYTHING until a week for tomorrow. i. am. BORED.) but once that was done, i wasn't ready to go back and sit in a chair while everyone else lived their lives. so i wound my way around the metro DC area, fighting traffic, blasting music and getting my thoughts in order. it was so restorative that even the light swearing i had to do while negotiating probably my least favorite intersection in the area didn't stress me out.

maybe other people aren't like this, but i am. there is nothing that settles my soul more than being alone in the car with my thoughts for a little while. it may not cure my ills, but controlling a slick rolling ton of american-made steel sure does salve me for awhile. it's the little things, eh?

7 comments:

  1. In college especially, I used to take drives like this a lot. I never knew where I was going, but I'd eventually get somewhere. There's something so refreshing and rejuvenating about spending time by yourself in the car.

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  2. not so much inthe winter..but ..in the spring and summer....ahhhhh... drop the top...and just drive.... ::sigh:: xoxo

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  3. I used to love driving alone to clear my head when I lived in South Dakota; it was much less crowded there and there were long, silent stretches of highway far, far away from anyone and anything else (except corn)(I love corn). But here in Utah there just isn't anywhere quiet enough (unless you're willing to drive mega miles to get there). Sad.

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  4. Totally agree! Something about it helps settle the mind. I used my (former) commute to get my thoughts situated for the day, and it always helped!

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  5. I am such a car person. Love the anticipation of road trips, making road mixes, stocking up on snacks, and then hitting the highway. Although it's nice to have company sometimes, the loner in me really, really, REALLY loves an empty passenger seat.

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  6. I'm the same way. IN fact, I will probably drive cross country by myself in a couple months just for the hell of it.

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  7. I so get this. Love to just check out on my drive home. I may or may not listen to music but usually my evening is so much better for the drive.
    Though I have completely missed my turn on numerous occasions due to my spaciness.

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