Freak Behind The Wheel

I don't like to admit to a lot of weaknesses. I know I have them I just like others to know I do. One of my biggest weaknesses is driving in cities.

I hate it. I turn into a freak. I get beyond nervous. Today I had to take Little Bear to an appointment in a city that I don't know all that well. I know where important places are like the mall and Wendy's are but I don't know how to get to the hospital or the place I was headed today.

I asked Papa Bear to drive but he didn't really want to take all three boys to the appointment. I wish he would have just granted my request and spared us both unleashing my inner freak.

It didn't help that I was told the wrong place first which was hard enough for me to find..even with Papa Bear on speaker phone to help navigate. The women behind the desk in the wrong place was not really very helpful in giving me directions either. She was just like "go to the lights at the corner whatever and whatever than make a left onto that street and go down and make a right onto another street and the place is on the corner of M street and M street". Oh, OK. Yeah still didn't have a clue where I was going.

I got back in the van and put Papa Bear back on speaker phone all the while starting to get quite wound up. There was construction everywhere because this is not difficult enough. I was breathing...well I think I was breathing...irregularly, gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. My heart was pounding, my chest hurt, and my stomach was doing barrel rolls.

I was so glad that Little Bear was wearing a pair of headphones and watching a DVD in the far back seat so he didn't have a clue that he was a passenger on a crazy train.

I followed Papa Bear's directions until I got to the final intersection where the building was supposed to be on the corner. Two buildings in is NOT the corner. How can you say the building is on the corner when there is a variety store and a dry cleaner on the corner, next door to the building that everyone tells you is on the corner? It's not on the freaking corner! At least I finally got to my destination. Now I just needed to puke and everything would be good again.

What the heck is wrong with me? Why can't I just hope in the car and go? Whenever I have to go somewhere new I always Mapquest it ahead of time and plan out my route or if possible get someone else to drive me there so I have an idea of where I'm headed. I didn't do that today because I thought Papa Bear would give in and just drive me and that proved to be a mistake. I'm glad he made me do it on my own but it was still hell.

Some people are afraid of spiders or heights or things like that. I'm afraid of traffic. I've never been in an accident and I beetle around Stinkburg easily but in high traffic areas I am definitely a freak behind the wheel.