Tag: driving

October 14th – Security

by annemariedemyen, posted in News & Views - October 2021

The news story for the day in Saskatchewan is the arrival of our first snow of the season. It is more of a preview than the BIG event, but it is definite sign that winter will not be passing us by.

First snow of the season 😲

I also have a bit of family news to share today. With Dom’s regular grandparent sitters unavailable this week, I was called up for active duty. It is not that big of a deal. Dom gets out of school at 3:22 and his Dad (son Mark) is here to pick him up before 5:00. There is barely time for a snack and a cartoon.

The challenge of this arrangement is that Dom attends school across the city from where we live. That means driving some distance to pick him up, and obviously the same distance to get back here. And… Dan is working this week. The driving is on me.

I do not love driving. Typically, I will do anything to avoid getting behind the wheel. But… this is for Dom. So I have been driving across the city and back. There is construction and trains and rain, and today there is the added joy of snow. If Dan was available he would no doubt be driving me across the city and back every day and I would be relieved and grateful and stressed out thinking about ever having to do this if he were not available.

But… Dan is not available this week, so it is on me. The rediculous thing is – I can drive. I have driven thousands and thousands of miles, much of it in hideous weather, through and around construction, and in vehicles far less reliable than our Jeep. When I do get behind the wheel, it all comes back. It is like riding a bike. (If I could ride a bike.) The thing is, I can drive, and when forced to do it I manage it rather competently. Then I am super pumped that I did it and I feel secure knowing that I am capable of doing it.

When I avoid anything it makes me feel nervous and insecure. When I actually meet my fears head on I become FEARLESS! Life is so complicated. 😂

Ready to roll with Dom!
Snack Time

Take care and have a great day. 💞

Winter is Here

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

4:30 today and things did not look good. I went out to brush the snow off the Jeep. Damn, the new long-handled snowbrush Dan bought me last week was still sitting at home. I grabbed an oversized work-glove off the toolbox and improvised. The windshield was pretty much out of reach so I started the Jeep and cranked up the defroster to finish what I had started. One of the company installers finished clearing off his vehicle and came to lend a hand. Yay Louie! So grateful for good co-workers.

With the Jeep cleared off and toasty warm, I headed out on the icy roads. Driving through the industrial park has challenges at the best of times. Dodging semis, trains, half-tons and heavy equipment, I made it to the main road safely and was on my way.

You would think that living in a city with icy roads six months of the year, people would know how to drive on them. You would be wrong. I passed several gatherings of police cars, tow-trucks and the like. Sometimes there is a garbage truck to help pick up the pieces. If the weather is super bad, the city parks sanding trucks at donut shops around the city to remind people that the roads are icy.

I made it home and stumbled through the snow in my sneakers. In the porch, I passed my winter boots, sitting beside my new snowbrush. As Dan finished supper, I make a cup of tea and relaxed – until I remembered it will still be cold, it will still be icy and I’m pretty sure it is going to dark when I head back to work tomorrow. 😟

On the Road Again

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Tomorrow we head north to visit my son and celebrate his son’s birthday. I am pretty much packed and ready to go. I just have to get Kat’s bag packed and get a few hours of sleep. That will be the tricky part, getting to sleep with so much on my mind.

Dan is working tonight. It is his forth twelve hour shift in a row and he works hard. He will be home early enough to get a few hours sleep before we leave, but not enough for me to make him drive to Lloyd, so I will be behind the wheel.

I do not love travelling and I definitely do not love driving. I am cursed behind the wheel. I have driven through more than my share of construction, fog, blizzards, icy roads, gale force winds and a herd of pigs. Not friendly pigs either – a mean, nasty, gang of pigs. I have lost more than my share of windshield wipers – oddly true. I have slid down a muddy country road sideways in pitch dark, pouring rain. That was not fun. None of it was fun, so I am not totally excited at the prospect of tomorrow’s adventure.

Dan usually does his share of driving and mine when we travel. I have been thinking lately that I should make more of an effort to polish up on my highway driving skills. One never knows if it is a skill I may need in the future. This is probably as good a time as any, to start making the extra effort.

I had better go try to get some sleep. Apparently it is hunting season in Saskatchewan. If anyone out on the open road tomorrow will be dodging bullets and startled wild life, we know it will be me. 🦌🐇🦆