Timid
I can’t tell if I’m out of practice with adulting due to the pandemic or if this would have happened regardless with age, but I had to go downtown last week, and I felt so out of sorts over putting on real clothes and leaving the house.
I had two options for the Metro. One route was shorter but had an unknown parking lot. The other route was longer but had a familiar parking lot. Old Melissa would have gone with route one to get there quickly. She would have figured it out. New Melissa first chose route one and then switched to route two, a decision she regretted once on the train and feeling her stomach lurch for an additional ten minutes.
Old Melissa wouldn’t have written out walking directions. New Melissa clutched them in her hand, ignoring the fact that the CITY IS A GRID. It is super hard to get lost. The directions served no purpose except as a security blanket.
I made myself promise that I wouldn’t be this timid when I have to go downtown next month. I’m parking in the iffy garage and trusting I’ll be able to find a space. My stomach needs me to make that decision on its motion-sick behalf.
4 comments
I’ve become way less travel timid since my phone and a credit card will generally get me out of any trouble I find myself in while traveling.
I still plan stuff out though.
You can do it! I hope the parking gods smile upon you, and make your travel easy. Maybe the iffy garage is a BETTER lot. I hope so…
You’re not alone. I read an article just a few days ago talking about how timid we all are as we start to travel internationally again, when pre-pandemic nothing bothered us. We’re just not used to it. I find days can go by and I have hardly left the house – even exercise is inside.
Earlier this month we rode the subway downtown, both firsts since pre-covid. Previously I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but as you say, I was WAY out of practice! Plus the combination of covid plus a lot of recent crime & violence on our subway system had me feeling a bit leery. Driving and then finding parking downtown is a nightmare at the best of times, and there’s so much construction going on, the lots that I once knew about have probably disappeared. Anyway, we put on our masks and took the subway and all was fine. Hope your trip was uneventful too!