Drove, Driven, Drive, Driving

6 weeks and I've got wheels again!

Funny that driving should be a big deal.  But it is.

When I was discharged they told me "No driving for 6 weeks!  Because of insurance."  I accepted that.  Guess it made sense.  I was through a pretty serious surgery and I was still feeling the effects of the anesthetic and was full of various medications (all prescribed).

Seemed fair enough to think I might pose an increased risk on the roads.  Perhaps my incision would leak and I'd be distracted by blood on my chest and not see that stop sign.  Perhaps I'd lapse into a Beta blocker induced swoon and fade into the next lane only to side-swipe an on-coming car.  Perhaps my blood pressure would go through the roof from road rage the first time I encountered some idiot who cut me off without signalling and I'd burst my by-pass.  Who knows what carnage I might cause if I was behind the wheel in any of these scenarios.

So I have been good for the past six weeks and I've honoured the insurance industry's risk assessments.

But today is six weeks.  I drove!!  Still remembered the rules of the road and how to shift gears.  Got M to school and myself to my second cardiac rehab session.  Nothing to it.

Funny though how much more independence I feel now that I'm on the road again.  Years ago we lived without a car for a long time and it was no big deal.  It was occasionally inconvenient but we didn't really miss it.  We walked a lot and were probably more healthy for it. But now we're more suburban and the places we need to go are farther away.  And time is often short.  It sure is good to have wheels.

Six weeks without driving though makes me think I could cut back some.  I'd save a bit of gas, spew a bit less carbon dioxide, and get a bit more heart-healthy exercise.  Those would all be good things.

Incidentally, did you know that space shuttle and space station astronauts are also prohibited from driving for six weeks after they return to earth?  Imagine that.  They can fly the space shuttle to a landing but they can't drive their car home afterwards.  I like having something in common with astronauts, though.