Stick + Shift

My knuckles were practically so white they were blinding me and my shoulders were hunched up carrying the weight of tension that my piano teacher always used to remind me I simply needed to relax.  Where was I?

At a red light.  On an incline. 

Oh my, I was nervous.  There was this beautiful, super shiny light teal brand new cadillac (if my memory serves me right) sitting right behind us and it felt that he was in my personal space bubble, if you know what I mean.  Sir, why did you have to pull up so close to me??

You see, I had driven a manual car once before in my life and really didn't have all that much experience in getting the car going on a flat surface, much less at an incline with cars behind me waiting for the light to switch. 

Well, the light did finally turn green after what felt like an eternity, and I may or may not have killed it a couple of times before I finally got out, but praise the Lord (literally) we did not fall back and hit that nice new car behind me.  That sure would've been a day-wrecker.  We DID, at the patient direction of my friend and teacher, Liege, drive away with nothing more than my pride hurt.  I am so thankful for good friends who are willing to spend time to teach me things I need to learn.  Driving "stick" (a new term for my Brazilian friend:)) is one of those things that Trevor and I simply have to learn!  As we head to Brazil, most cars are manual, and before we get stuck in heavy traffic where one of the understood most useful parts of the car is the horn, we need to get to the point where we are comfortable behind the wheel.

Liege was gracious enough to let us borrow her car for the past week as she's been away on a trip, and I am proud to announce that I have gone out on several trips all by myself and not made a mess of things.  One thing this whole experience has given me (besides a wonderful new skill of course) is a new appreciation for automatic cars.  While I quite enjoy the feeling of being more in charge of the vehicle and knowing what's going on with, the freedom to not have to think SO HARD while driving is something I took quite for granted before!  It is getting easier, and I'm not quite so nervous as before, but I liken it to when you have your first baby.  At first, everything is new and everything can feel so difficult.  You have to try so hard and think so hard because you're not used to doing any of it!  And then, somehow, after you have 2 or 3 more kids, suddenly when you go back down to only one, it seems so easy you hardly know what to do with yourself.  Praying I'll get to that point with my manual driving skills like my friend, Liege.  She doesn't even have to think about it!  SHE goes on automatic!

Happy Wednesday everyone, and thanks for taking the time to read. :)

Sarah