The Ride Home

Well, I decided to leave on New Year’s Eve.  I don’t know why I always find myself traveling on the road during this time.  It is actually a lousy time to travel.  Most places close early on the turnpike and there are very few people traveling on the road.  I picked New Year’s Eve because there was supposed to be a snowstorm coming and I wanted to try to beat the storm.  I left Albany at about 7 pm.  The trip from Albany to Detroit was about 644 miles if you did not cut through Canada.  And, I had to take that route, because I do not have a passport.  I had decided that I would drive through after work, but everyone made it seem like that was a horrible idea, so I drove as most of the distance on New Years Eve and I drove the remainder of the trip on New Years Day.  The good news was that one of the cities by Buffalo had fireworks at midnight, and so I got to see some as I drove past.  I made it past Buffalo and into Pennsylvania a little after 1:00 am.  I stopped because the visibility was beginning to get bad.  Also, the wind was blowing the snow and the road was beginning to

get slippery.  It is funny. I don’t feel tired when I am driving.  I only feel tired when I get out of the car.  I was back on the road about 5 am.  My car looked like a snowball.  All of my car doors were frozen except for the driver’s side.  As, I continued on the road, I looked for a restaurant that was open that served breakfast, or at least coffee.  Everything was closed until 8 am, because it was New Years day.  Some of the gas stations were even closed.  When I made it to Ohio, I called my mother and I let her know that I was almost there.  By then, my car no longer looked liked a snowball, but a salt lick.  There was salt everywhere, however, I don’t remember getting pummeled by a salt truck. 

I made it to Detroit by noon.  I was exhausted, but not sleepy, which was surprising because I only had about 3 hours of sleep.  We unpacked most of my stuff, and then ate a traditional New Year’s Day dinner.  I really need all of those New Year’s folklore to work for 2015.  Usually, I am excited when I start a new chapter in my life, but this time I am a little scared.  But, I am also hopeful.  

#home

#NewYearsEve

#NewYearsDay

#PennsylvaniaTurnpike

#OhioTurnpike

Lean Christmas / Lessons Learned

Well, it was a lean Christmas for me, however, the holidays were enriching in other ways.  I went home to Detroit, to see my mother.  I actually drove to Detroit, from Maryland under $100, with my new car, a Chevy Cruze.  Yes, that includes tolls for the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpike.   I only filled up my tank twice and I brought some food with me on my trip, so I wouldn't eat out as much.  I can't imagine how much I would have saved if it was a Hybrid.  I expected to save some money, but to travel 594 miles on less than $100 is pretty impressive.  My mother and I spent a lot of time together.  She has been in a serious car accident and is going to physical therapy.  Also, she can’t drive.  This has been very difficult for her, because she just retired and her plans weren't to spend her first year disabled.  She tore her ligaments in her shoulders and she re injured her back.  My mother is a classic Type A personality and this has been a drastic and depressing change for her.  This Christmas was somewhat somber, but enlightening, also there was some humor in it as well.  For Christmas, I bought my mother a new jogging suit.  It wasn't very fancy, it was blue (her favorite color) and I knew she needed it for exercising and it is easy to put on in the morning for physical therapy.  I also drove her around most of the holiday.  I didn't mind, because she has been depending on others and her insurance company, AAA, well…, let’s just say they are aptly named.  They only give her a stipend of $20/day for someone to do errands and help around the house.  And, even though the economy is pitiful in Detroit, it is still hard to find help.  Sometimes we were doing errands for 8 hours, now we did get to go out to eat as well, but mostly we were trying to get tasks completed.  The one thing that I didn't expect in spending all of this time with my mother is that I didn't expect her to admit her faults without provocation.  My mother actually admitted that she was harder on raising me than my grandmother was on raising her.  She also said that she didn't know why.  One theory that she had is that she really grew up as an only child and my grandmother had 2 younger siblings.  She thinks that it made my grandmother more patient with little kids.  I don’t know if that was the reason or not, but I appreciated the fact that she admitted it.  She even admitted to sometimes being an "A".  Once again, I was surprised, because it was volunteered.  I, like a lot of people have had issues with my mother, and I doubt that they will end, or that we will never have problems again.  But it was surprising to think that she actually reflected on events and saw them from a different perspective than her original one.  It also gave me hope that our relationship may improve as the years go by, and I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift. 

However, it could be those painkillers that they are giving her.  Or the fact that I fell down the stairs and bumped my head.  Hmmn, I never thought of that….

Well, it is a new year, and 2011 kicked almost everyone’s behind (A), so I think that I will hold out for hope.