Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Slice of Life: SNOW 12/10

The ladies at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

On Sunday, we were supposed to get snow but it was supposed to come in the afternoon.  My husband and I drove about 25 minutes away for brunch and were surprised but not too worried when the snow came early.  But then it just kept falling.  It was that beautiful kind of snow that makes you feel like you are in a snow globe as you look out the window.  The setting at our friends' house was gorgeous. A snow-covered forest of old trees.

Then, it was time to drive home. I got to do the driving since I am a better winter driver.  My husband does a great job, but he didn't grow up around here and does not have as much experience in the snow.  The interstate was still snow-covered and everyone was sensibly driving at about 35 mph tops. It was treacherous and scary and I was so happy when I arrived at home.  I was especially thankful that we got home safe when I turned on the television and saw on the news updates that almost every other spot in the city there had been a multiple car pile-up on the freeways.  We're talking 20-30 cars in these crashes.  As I had mentioned to my husband as I drove us home, it was a blessing that everyone was driving sensibly and no one was trying to speed around everybody.

This is one of the multiple car crashes that happened.

When I got home, I started thinking about some of the conversation we had at the brunch table.  The people we were with were talking cars a lot of the time, which is something I know almost nothing about.  However, when talked turned to the crappy handling of some higher end cars in the snow, it was something that I could relate to.  You see, when I was in high school, I drove a Mercedes.

My father always wanted to have a Mercedes. We made fun of him and got him models of Mercedes. It was one of those things that he had always wanted for his whole life.  So, when the opportunity presented itself for him to lease one at a reasonable price, he went for it.  My mother was a teacher and he was a salesman, so they made decent money, but were not rich.  My father had his dream car for the last 6 months of his life.  When he passed away, my mother had the difficult decision of which car to get rid of.  She decided to keep the Mercedes because it made the most sense. It turns out that this car was something of a lemon.  So when I started driving, it became the car that I could drive.

The car I drove was a sedan similar to this one. 

That car was horrible in the winter.  It had rear-wheel drive and fishtailed around every corner in the snow.  I got really good at driving in the snow.  Even though it was probably not the best idea for me to drive a car like that as a teenager, the experience taught me a lot about winter driving.  Now, I am a natural at handling tough driving.  My reactions when driving in snow are natural.  The car fishtails? No problem.  Having a hard time getting through that snow pile? No problem.  I have confidence and know what I am doing because of the crappy way that car handled snow and ice.

When I encounter the tricky winter driving situations like I had on Sunday, I am so thankful for the confidence that I have.  My reactions are automatic and I don't even have to think about which way to steer or how hard to hit the accelerator.  I wonder if my dad knows about the lessons that his dream car gave me.  I hope so.

9 comments:

  1. Sometimes, those snazzy cars are the one that give us the most difficulty. It was fun learning about your dad and his yen for a Mercedes.

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  2. I like the car story behind the driving in the snow story. I do not like driving in the snow, but in Estonia there is no choice. The winters are snowy.

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  3. I admire your courage! I wiped out on an ice-covered bridge once and still have not gotten over the fear! I would bow to your driving skills too!

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  4. Glad you made it home safely! High end cars are dandy on solid ground, but forget it on snow and ice.

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  5. I'm a terrible snow driver...thank goodness I only live blocks away from school. I liked hearing about your dad getting his dream car and then you inheriting it. xo

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  6. I'm glad you made it home safely. I'm a NC native transplanted to IN, and I still think the best thing to do in snow is stay home. I'm glad I have a job where I can do that. Hopefully we make it back to school tomorrow.

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  7. Glad you made it home safe! Winter driving can be crazy, but here in MI you can't avoid it either.

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  8. I read this hours ago, Andrea, but on my IPad at lunch, then forgot to comment! I'm glad you're competent, & safe, too! You certainly took me back. My husband too had an old Mercedes, drove like a dream in good weather, but I refused to even sit in it when it was bad. Luckily we had other cars too. Your story is funny, interesting how we become 'expert' at something, out of sheer need some of the time.

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  9. I have been reading so many slices about the snow, makes me yearn for a White Christmas. Yours makes me think, I might not survive one!
    I love how this is a double slice..you the expert drive and your dad.

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