Simple Explanation

When I awoke from a nap a couple of days ago, the side of my face was numb.

“Okay,” I thought. “It just needs to wake up, as well.”

I pinched and splashed water on my face, but neither of those actions mitigated the numbness. After taking a shower, my face still felt numb.

That’s when I began to worry.

What if the way I had slept had triggered something? What if something more serious was going on underneath my skin?

My husband wasn’t worried, though, because he had a feeling there was a simple explanation. He said my face probably felt numb because of the way I had gone to sleep on it - just like my hand or foot would have if I had slept wrong on them. Not a problem at all, right?

Actually, I think the real problem is the fact that I ignore the simple explanations and put all my eggs in the serious basket. Why? Because what if you ignored a minor pain or annoyance and it turned out the problem was something that you should have paid closer attention to? I know of people who had what seemed like a normal cough, but that cough was not just a cough; they later found out they had been in the early stages of lung cancer. When you hear stories like that, how could you not pay closer attention to your body? Am I the only one who does this?

So for now, I’m just going to try to move on from this incident and if it happens again, maybe I should get it checked out. Until then, I’m sure I’ll find something else to worry about.....

Copyright © 2011

Worries Melt Away

As my car slowly rolls down the ramp onto the interstate, I’m confident I’m going to make it.

“This isn’t so bad,” I think to myself. “The roads actually have been pretty clear.”

Then, just as I’m about to make it off of the ramp, my car slides. My first instinct is to step on the brakes. But wasn’t I told by numerous people that if you ever hit a patch of ice, don’t step on the brakes?

There’s barely enough room for another car to fit between my car and the one in front of me. I have to step on the brakes, though. If I don’t I could hit the car in front of me, and almost all of my worries concerning driving on the ice would be justified.

I slowly press down on the brakes. My car wiggles and continues sliding forward. Finally, it comes to a stop - right behind the car in front of me.

Luckily, that’s the only ice-related incident I had to deal with on Friday. Turns out I worried for nothing (thank goodness!).

My husband ended up suggesting a route that had the least amount of ice on it. The route to work was longer and had more traffic, but I didn’t mind. Less ice meant less stress, so it was worth it!

While I safely made it to the office, that didn’t mean I ceased worrying about the ice. I still had to make it to an appointment, which meant I had to get back out on potential treacherous roads. My appointment was in the afternoon, so by that time, the sun’s warmth had melted much of the ice or turned it to slush.

I had no problems getting to and from my appointment and was quite pleased with myself for facing my fears. However, when I returned to the office, I began to worry about the drive home. The temperature was dropping, and the melting snow and standing water would turn back into ice soon. After much debating, I decided to leave work before it got dark. Again, the drive took about two hours to make it home, but I did it - safely!

Copyright © 2011

DOI (Driving On Ice)

Well, my winter weather worries continue.

Thanks to some nice people I work with, I was able to get rides to the office yesterday and today. Unfortunately, since I have an appointment tomorrow, it looks like the best option would be for me to drive myself to work.

The roads have improved, but there are still some slick spots and ice-related accidents. A commute that usually takes twenty minutes turned into a two-hour commute today (my husband picked me up, and we saw four accidents on our way home). While the wheels on Todd’s car spun a few times on the ice, the wheels were spinning in my head, as well. Here’s a snapshot of that two-hour ride home:

A babbling brook creeps along mountains of melting snow.

“Isn’t that pretty?” my husband asks me. He is clearly not worried about the icy conditions.

“Yes, it is,” I say. Concentrate on the pretty scenery, not the treacherous ice beneath us, I tell myself over and over again.

We continue to drive on the narrow backroad, which we took to avoid chaos caused by an accident. Then, a red light stops us. On ice.

“Once that light turns green, I don’t think we’ll be able to get going,” my husband says. He still does not seem very worried. I, on the other hand, can feel my chest tighten.

The light turns green and as he predicted, we’re stuck. We begin to slide, and the wheels desperately turn, trying to gain some traction. There is a slight drop-off to our right, and I just know that we’re headed for it! Then, the car straightens and struggles to go forward. A SUV is ahead of us, and now I’m worried we could hit it. We don’t hit it, though, and eventually make it out of the ice and onto the main road.

This commute, along with the four accidents we saw along the way, does not inspire much confidence that I can drive in the ice tomorrow. There are a couple of spots I’m worried about, but I’m going to try to drive myself to work! Hopefully, I’ll have a good report tomorrow!

Copyright © 2011

Winter Weather Worries

Everything is covered with snow, and ice coats the roadways and sidewalks.
For some people in the South, hearing the word “snow” excites them. It does not snow much here in Georgia (some winters we can go without ever seeing a snowflake), so when it snows here, we are fascinated by the rare beautiful scenery it creates. And, of course, you can hear screams of delight when the list of school and business closings scrolls across the bottom of the TV.

As a worry wart, though, I found much to worry about during the January snowstorm that hit the state. What if I have to get out in the winter weather and then have an accident? My car could slide into another car or run off the road into a ditch. A car could run into my car. What if I make it to my destination safely, but then slip on the ice and crack my head (which is something that happened years ago to someone my mother knows). What if someone I know has to get out in the bad weather and something happens to them?

As my husband and I watched the snow fall and turn to ice, I was amazed by the number of cars driving on the ice, especially after repeated pleas by public safety officials to stay off the dangerous, slick roads. The number of cars wasn’t anywhere near the amount usually on the road, but still... Where were these people going? What was so important that these people had to risk their lives?

After the snowstorm had subsided, I decided my husband and I should venture outside and make some photos. I didn’t get very far, though. The moment we stepped outside, our shoes were on ice. While my husband gradually made it to the sidewalk, I remained behind, eagerly wanting to follow him. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I knew of someone who had had a serious head injury as a result of slipping on ice, and I didn’t want to end up in a similar situation.

So a day that should have been relatively stress-free somehow ended up more stressful. That’s not how a snow day should be! How do so many people seem to be so calm during these times of inclement weather?

Copyright © 2011