I would have called this “Secret Addictions” but if I share them here, they are no longer secret.  Sure I have my food additions (you know, the food you cannot have in your house or you eat it all in one sitting), and I have my TV shows, or my music…but there is one compulsion that I go to when I need comfort, or some thinking time….time alone, or a change of scenery…

My addiction comes in 44 mile dosages.  Often I bring my camera and satisfy another addition.  It’s funny too, because I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 18, and then only because my sister (17 months younger) got hers first and I couldn’t stand the thought of her using mom or dad’s car, and not having to share….I hated driving, but got over that.  Driving is my therapy.

I bought my camera before I bought a car.  Once I had the car, I drove.  I drove to specifically go take pictures.  I had a dog (a golden retriever named “Otis”) and a vehicle, a job (gas $$ and car payment), and loved spending time in my car…

When our boys were little, I would drive us around the lake to get them to fall asleep.  Sometimes I would drive through North Conway, New Hampshire.  Other days we would drive to Falmouth so they could play on the maze craze, or walk around MacWorth Island.  I love driving so much, I taught driver’s education for three years.

Driver’s Education Instructor was probably my most favorite job EVER.  A part of me was curious to know if I could relate to kids who were the same ages as mine….Part of me was curious to know if I did indeed, miss my calling as a teacher, and part of me looked forward to exploring the back roads of Maine, all year round.  I found the greatest spot for birch trees, Halloween decorations, lakeside pictures, a corn field and church….I also found a part of myself that I had missed…While exploring the back roads of Maine, I could also explore my thoughts…Always aware…even keenly aware, of my students and where we were, I also became more aware of my thought processes.

I am reminded of Andy Rooney, of 60 Minutes.  He had a segment every week which he started with: “Did you ever notice…”  I began to notice.  And in March of 2014, driving became my life line.  If I am not driving to work, or chorus/quartet rehearsal, I will go for my drive around the lake.  It clears my head.  It brings me focus.  I can, and do, talk to myself right out loud.  I have written speeches, memorized speeches, written talks for church, and explored thoughts and ideas and done what I could to discover not only what I feel, but why.  I now travel with my camera, and my tape recorder.

44 Miles a Day (rain or shine)

3.12 a gallon for gas

1 Hour ever morning

That is MY recipe for stable, mental health