It has been nearly 18 years since I learned to drive at age 50, and yet, before yesterday, when it rained hard, Douglas would take me to work. So, I had never really driven in a hard rain. The one time I found myself in a downpour, I was able to pull into the local... Continue Reading →
Katie knew that her mother thought she was doing what was right for her precious daughter. But, she wrapped Katie in a bubble of fear, not allowing her to experience the real world, unlike the other children playing outside their windows. Some days, Katie wanted to scream at her mother to let her go outside... Continue Reading →
Twice in the last two weeks I have almost been late for an appointment because I couldn't find two empty parking spaces side by side. Previously, I wrote about learning to drive at age 50, but parking is a whole other animal. I have asked my husband, Douglas, to teach me to park, but he... Continue Reading →
I was driving along and I made a mistake that many people have also made. I wanted to turn left across two lanes of traffic. The driver of the car in the closest lane stopped very courteously to let me turn. He signaled me to turn, so I assumed that he knew that both lanes... Continue Reading →
I decided today to learn how to drive a car with a manual transmission. When we travel abroad, only Douglas can drive. Every car we have rented in Portugal and Spain had a manual transmission. This means that even thought the reservations is in my name, Douglas is the only one who can drive the... Continue Reading →
My mother was one of the most superstitious people you would ever meet. She was constantly reminding us not to let a black cat walk across our paths, as though we could stop them. Who was going to risk getting their arms shredded to pieces trying to make a cat do anything contrary to their... Continue Reading →
I am once again a passenger, dependent on someone else to drive me wherever I need to go, mainly for two reasons. First, I cannot drive here because the cars in Portugal that we can afford to rent are manual transmissions. I have no idea how to crank one up, much less drive one. I... Continue Reading →
As a child, my mother did not let me learn to swim, skate, or ride a bicycle. She would say that it was too dangerous. I never caught on that my older sister was allowed to learn all of these things, and she was just fine. But, because I believed my mother, I could be... Continue Reading →
