Driving Sideways

I went to work today. To some of you that may not seem like a note-worthy accomplishment; however, it is a note-worthy accomplishment when you have received over a foot of snow. I know what you’re thinking now, and, no, I’m not crazy; I’ve just been motivated lately to perform death-defying acts!

I had two choices this morning. I could work at home with a 17-year-old, a 7-year-old, three cats, and a dog that barked whenever a snow plow went by or I could drive 11.44 miles to work in what they now called a blizzard. To most the choice was obvious; it was go to work! I might have overly simplified my choices a tad.

I could attempt to accomplish something in my “office,” which was really just a very small desk at the end of the my upstairs hallway, while listening to the sound of Nathan’s X-box game go ka-pow, ka-pow, ka-pow, being asked for snacks every 20 minutes or why Plume didn’t like her by Iz, and hearing cats chase each other around the kitchen while Monty barked. I take that back; Monty would be barking at the sound of a pin dropping!

So, you can see my dilemma. I could spend the day at home accomplishing nothing while being warm and safe inside or I could risk life and limb and travel to work and wallow in the silence as I figured out how level1 and level2 differed for database summarization. I did what any red-blooded American Mom would do, given that she had just spent an entire week home for school vacation with a 7-year-old. I drove to work!

I was told the main roads were clear. Of course, the person who told me this also was the beneficiary of my $1million dollar life insurance policy, so he only had to gain if I ended up in a snowbank! Once I got to the main road, I realized that he was right; it wasn’t too bad, though it wasn’t too good.

I was confident that my trusty steed, an ’05 Saab with snow tires, would see me safely to 4 Technology Park Drive. When my steed wasn’t burdened with snow tires, she let me go from 0 mph to 60 mph in seconds during the snow-less months; I could merge onto Route 495 with a tractor trailer truck only five seconds behind me in the slow lane and be doing 80mph before the truck ever even knew that I had merged. God, I love my steed, though don’t tell her that I often wish she was a convertible!

Before I left, my gas tank read empty. I had just saw the news, where some bobble-headed newscaster announced that it was a good idea to have a full tank of gas if you had to venture out in the snow. I stopped at the Mobil station in town, though I needed to find a pump that was plowed.

Once I did, I jumped out of the car, slammed my hand against the regular unleaded button, and wished I had remembered to bring gloves. Oddly, I had been a New Englander all my life, and it really didn’t bother me that my fingers went numb in 45 seconds. I filled my tank, and then I drove off with my steed flashing her “I’m not liking the traction here” light.

Before I drove off, I put on my headphones and turned my iPod up loud to listen to “Find Your Way Back.” This song had become my anthem in the last week. I also hoped that it would guide me to work unscathed.

As I drove along, I noticed that the only cars I saw on the road were plows or pick-up trunks. I began to get scared, doubting myself, wondering if I should really be going it alone in this weather. As “Find Your Way Back” blared, I realized that I could go it alone, and I would.

This trip to work had became more than just about work. It was a perilous voyage, a voyage that I needed to make on my own. While my steed was stellar in the snow, there were a few places where we slipped and skidded.

In those moments, I held my breath. When I steered the wheel in the opposite direction, my steed kept me on track and in the right direction. Oddly, when I was scared at some points during the journey, I smiled; I was so living this journey scared or not.

At noon, I pulled into work and drove up the long driveway. I went to take a left into the parking lot; however, it wasn’t plowed. I thought, “Surely, I’m not the only one here today.”

When I arrived in work, I was one of ten people who had made the drive in. For most of them, their journey was mandatory and work-related. For me, my journey was all about free will and my new life, little did they know.

Today, I made my way from home and back again. Unlike the song I listened to on my trip, I wasn’t finding my way back. I was finding my way to the person I felt I had never been but always wanted to be. I was confident, strong, and driving sideways when I wasn’t driving forward, and I truly loved that about me today. ♥

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