WANDER:
If you’re letting your phone give you directions on the back roads of middle Georgia, that’s fine (usually).
However, if the voice says, “get left to prepare for a turn,” make sure there’s actually a second southbound lane when you decide to “get left.”
Otherwise, you’ll end up where I was today: driving on the wrong side of the road, alerted to that fact only when there’s another car coming straight at you.
As I was driving back from South Carolina today, I was pretty much thinking the same thing I thought on the way up on Friday: “Gosh I wish I could stop and take a picture of all this cotton.” There was field after field of puffy white … along with bale after bale of harvested cotton.
Agriculture scenes stir something deep within me, no doubt going back to my grandfather, his mule and his plow.
On the way up, I was too intent on reaching my destination.
On the way back, by the time I thought, “I really should take a picture,” there was always someone behind me, even on the most desolate of back roads.
Anyway, regarding driving on the wrong side of the road.
I really hate that … I hate how one mistake in judgment can change our lives instantaneously.
I had asked my friend Rachel to pray for me (right after I told her I wasn’t stopping to see her in Augusta, but I know she understood).
I couldn’t tell you the last time I solo drove 7+ hours each way. Definitely before the pandemic. And before the pandemic, my car (at the time) wasn’t up for long trips and our budget wasn’t in great shape to do a lot of rentals, so I took very few trips.
I wanted this post to be about how lovely it was to let my mind wander among the fall colors in South Carolina, but clearly the car story is more of a nail-biter.
I’m just glad I’m still around to tell it.
Welcome to this week’s Five Minute Friday. Our instructions, via coordinator Kate Motaung: “Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.” (But I can’t resist spell-checking, as you can imagine.)
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
That car experience sounds scary. Glad it didn’t end up with a head on encounter.
And I do relate to the frustration of seeing something I’d like to take a picture of when I’m driving solo (which is most of the time), and then having someone right behind me, so I can’t slow down.
Yes! All of the above. Thanks for dropping by.
Ohmyword, Paula, I’m so glad you’re still with us! Scary!!!
I know! All’s well that ends well. There’s a lesson in this somewhere. 🙂