Fear of the Open Road

I recently drove myself to Spokane for work.I'm sure most of you are like, Big Deal, Richelle. People drive themselves all over God's green earth and live to tell about it every day.But... I have never, in my life, driven that far by myself. I like being a passenger. I hate driving, I hate traffic, I hate windy, curvy roads. I prefer to sleep or watch the scenery fly by the passenger window, rather than white-knuckle the steering wheel.I stressed about the trip for probably two months ahead of time. I panicked the days leading up to my departure. What if I got lost? What if I hit a deer? What if I get abducted by aliens on the interstate? Seriously... I was a hot mess.My stress, in turn, stressed out my kids. Their separation anxiety kicked into overdrive. Tears turned into a choke-hold by my youngest, and Macy just got sad. I hate leaving my girls behind. As much as I enjoy quiet, alone time, I miss the munchkins when they are gone!I left Havre midday with one mission--to find a GPS unit in Great Falls so that I wouldn't have to worry about finding a map. (Which would have been pointless, as I can't read a map to save my life). Thankfully my sweet husband found a few at Target online--so to Target I went. After wandering like an idiot, a kind sales associate finally found the GPS unit for me and I got out of that store with my bank balance still intact.Out to the car I went. I figured I'd have the GPS set up in 5 minutes, get on the interstate, and get the show on the road. And I did, until I realized the direction I wanted to go, and the way the GPS wanted to go, were not the same. 😳Of course I freaked out. I called my husband and of course, he had no cell service. 🙄 I sucked it up, turned around, and got myself to Helena, praying the Gps would recalibrate. Or read my mind. Whatever you call it, it finally realized what I was trying to do and never screwed up again the rest of the trip. (Mostly).The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. I made it without having a heart attack or causing a wreck. Was it as bad as I imagined? Probably not. Am I excited to make that drive again? Absolutely not. I'm just keeping it real here, people. I shoulda been born in the days where riding your horse to work was the norm, not traveling 1000 miles in four days. It was fun to leave (I guess), but I'm so glad to be back in Podunk, where the closest interstate is 2 hours away and the worst traffic jams are when neighbors push cattle up the road.I love the wide open spaces of Montana, as long as I'm not behind the steering wheel!Much love,Richelle