I wonder why teenagers get into more driving accidents than adults...

Because I commute 80 miles a day, 5 days a week I pride myself in being an exceptional driver. Honest I’m not being vain, I'm just good. And since I’m on a roll of being honest, I’ll admit that I have a few driving flaws.

For example, you won’t hear me boasting about my mad parking skillz because I'm honest enough to say that "hey, I'm not that great at parking." If you were to ask me to back-in to a parking spot, I’d smile sweetly and say “sure no problem, just let me drop you off at the front door first” then proceed to drive round and round the parking lot until I find a spot that I can pull all the way through, so it LOOKS like I backed-in to it (yep, I’m crafty), then promptly take all the credit for backing into said spot.

So yes, not counting parking, I’m pretty great driver but I haven’t always been and I can admit that too.

I learned how to drive in the metro area and pretty much only drove within the same 10 mile radius of my mom’s house so I hadn’t really experienced other types of driving like two lane passing and don’t even get me started on dirt roads (they still scare me) until I got out into the real world.

I was told this story is hard to understand because of the idiocracy of it, so bare with me I wasn't the bright bulb.

When I was 19 years old a young driver I went to visit my then-boyfriend in Willmar, which is two hours of two lane driving- not something that I was exactly Captain Awesome doing. On one particular trip, for whatever reason I decided that the old couple in the RV driving next to me were my friends- like REAL friends. I felt some sort of cosmic connection with them, like they were my long lost RV driving grandparents that I love but because they’re always on the road, I can’t always see them.

Anyway, because I was scared passing on two lane highways I just assumed everyone else was scared too.

So, this is what I’d do (wow, 11 years later and I’m still embarrassed- don’t worry I’m shaking my own head at myself-vigorously), I was always about a mile ahead of the RV and if I’d see my RV Grandparents attempting to pass a car on the left and I’d actually get over into the left lane of ONCOMING traffic for no other reason than to send them the message: “look, it’s clear! You’re safe to pass, no one is coming! I love you RV Grandparents!”

I did this for two hours folks, getting over into the left lane to show them they were clear. The fact that I was the one blocking their vision didn’t even occur to me. Nope, not once.

Until…

Until we pull into Willmar and they pull up next to me. I turn my head with a big expectant smile like “Hi RV Grandparents, I’m sorry I have to turn here but I love you! Hope to see you soon!”

Then…

I see the looks like their faces.

Both RV grandma & grandpa are CRAINING their necks to get a look at me. They have matching looks of absolute confusion/bewilderment/WTF/terror- as if I am a green alien with 7 eyes that just ate a toddler for breakfast and have a puppy on deck for dessert.

We continued to stare at one another until the stoplight turned green. We drove off in separate directions then the confusion of their look was starting to settle in, “huh? Why were they looking at me like that? Hmm, that was weird… I’m hungry.”

Clueless.

But now? Yep I get it.

Really. I am a good driver now I promise.







I wonder if RV Grandparents are thinking of me right now too....