woosah...

darwin taught me to drive the truck with the trailer attached. now let me preface this with a couple of things. i drive the big truck all the time (i would say trucks, but sadly i don't know how to drive a manual) and i have driven the big truck with the trailer attached to it. i have also parked the trailer - getting better at that one. however none of these things actually involved being on the road per say. so wednesday, when it was finally not horrifically gross outside, darwin and i made a venture to the new shop. i am sitting on the computer, trying desperately for it to speak to me about launching a furniture line (Urban Reclaimed - shameless plug), when darwin calls my name.

this usually ends one of two ways: dot, i am hungry or dot, where is something i misplaced 8 months ago, but it is very imperative that i have it at this exact moment in time. both of those situations i am very adept at handling. i micromanage most everything, so i am pretty good at knowing the answer to both of these questions. micromanaging my life - whole 'nother ball game that i am in the bottom of then 9th, bases loaded, 2 outs, 2 strikes, 3 balls....ya get the point.

wednesday was different. different how you ask? well darwin asked me if i knew where the lumber company by the new shop was and i said no. his response, oh good you can drive me there...EXCUSE ME, SAY WHAT?

let me preface once more. i am a nervous person by nature. i don't do confrontation, i don't like the phone, i don't like certain movies that make me uncomfortable, i will most decidedly bolt from a situation that will become too uncomfortable, i don't like long silences (i can tolerate them, but i don't like them)...you get the picture. nervous person. it's a characteristic that i am not terribly proud of, but have learned to mask and move right on through. there are a lot of "woosah" moments in my life. so you can imagine the nervous energy when darwin told me that i was going to drive the truck and trailer to said lumber company, pick up a pack, with him in the truck....

hopefully this will go better than the "teach dot to drive a stick shift in a warehouse" episode.

it went fine. surprisingly well. darwin is a remarkably good teacher. i mean it's not like i just got my license and am driving for the first time. but still, darwin has been hesitant to teach me to drive the truck and trailer, so this was a big step...for the two of us.

with that, i have learned that lots of things in life are like the lesson in driving the truck and trailer. without being loaded down, you can speed up a bit and brake a bit later, but you ultimately have to pay attention to your surroundings. with a load you have to be more cautious, a lot more judicious with your decisions. it makes perfect sense to me. life is a big ball of confusion. sometimes you are less confused and you fly right on through. sometimes you are way confused and you have to slow down and rethink your steps.

ciao.

p.s. keisha (the big truck) does NOT like it when it's cold. i think this is my perfect relationship...