Winter driving

The beautiful weather we experienced Saturday and Sunday make it easy to forget that we have already made it through the first treacherous driving days of the season, but not without trauma. My trauma is mostly emotional, but it is very real nonetheless.

Friday I got home from work just before 5:00 with very little to complain about road condition-wise. The plan was for me to drive to Hamilton to meet Darren and from there to proceed to Ancaster to partake in opening night of Harry Potter with a couple friends. I was reluctant to go, not because of the weather, but because I'm not into Harry Potter. I have not (and will not) read the books and while I did watch the first three movies, I didn't think they were anything to get all excited about. Anyway, I am a good girlfriend, so I went.

Everything was fine until I got off the QEW. The part of Centennial Parkway that passes over the highway (the overpass?!?) was a little icier than I anticipated. When I brakedto avoid hitting the car in front of me which was stopped at the red light, I swerved all over the bridge. That was enough to startle me and give me that "I almost had an accident" tingly feeling all through my body. But the fun was just beginning.

I continued up the Street and everything was fine until I passed the mall, where the stop and go traffic began. Well, it was more like "stop and maybe you'll get a chance to go" traffic. It wasn't until I got to the base of the mountain that I discovered the problem: the mountain access was closed. That's when mild panic set in. My immediate thought was "I DON'T KNOW ANY OTHER WAYS TO GET UP THE MOUNTAIN!" Fortunately, despite the fact that my emotions are working in superhero proportions lately (making up for all those years of suppression), I am still a logical being. I remembered that all the cars in front of me also had to get up the mountain, so I decided to follow the crowd - note to everyone who works with teens: this is not always bad advice! Part way to downtown Stoney Creek I remembered climbing the mountain from that area when I went to my optometrist. However, that is a very twisty, scary, windy, scary, narrow, scary mountain access! Here we go!

I made it to the top with much trepidation and prayer only to discover the longest line of inanimate traffic I've ever seen. But I maneuvered through the next set of "stop and go slightly" traffic and ended up turning right onto the road that comes before Mud St. This road requires me to turn left onto Centennial without the aid of magic lights that make all other traffic stop for me to proceed unhindered. I love those magic lights! This is where I really got scared. The car in the ditch to my right reminded me that the road was not dry, and the lineup of drivers ahead of me, who were not turning either, convinced me I was going to spend the night right there.

This entire time I was trying to call Darren to get some advice, comfort or distraction - depending on the moment of the venture, all to no avail. No matter what combination of numbers I tried, the voice on the other end annoyingly reminded me that my account was empty and requested that I top it up. Little did she know that's what I was trying to do!!!

Much later than I was supposed to, I arrived at Darren's. Fortunately, there was no one parked in front of the house because were that the case I would have pulled into the driveway (his landlord's spot), handed Darren the keys and told him that the only way that car was ever going to be moved was if he moved it himself. Instead, I pulled up in front, got out, walked into his apartment and said "Don't say a word." Immediately following those words, the tears started to flow...and didn't stop for 5 minutes. It was a big confusing combination of relief, frustration, fear and exhaustion, and it all came out. Until that moment, I didn't really understand what it meant to "kiss away someone's tears." It's very comforting.

In the car, once I had gained my composure, I was able to go into a 2-minute rant (stopping only to breathe) about the trauma of my evening. And we did make it to the movie and had a good visit afterward, all without incident.

I gave up driving that day. Of course, that's impractical, but I meant it! I'm so thankful that God gave me a few days of nice weather to help the pain of that experience die down before the next onslaught of treachery. --shudder--