1st Gear

Driving on the other side of the road is tough.  I remember driving on the other side in New Zealand, and I was so thankful for time just to sit in the front seat and feel more comfortable with it.  I did fairly well, but taking turns, backing out of parking spaces, and other similar things were still a little difficult to remember.  And somehow, even though I just drove there for a short time, that time took away the automaticity of knowing where the lights and windshield wipers were.  They were on opposite sides there from what I was used to and still, six years later, I often wash the windshield when I mean to turn on my brights!


Driving in the UK is certainly a daunting thought, but because of this prior knowledge, I was not all too intimidated, until... I asked about the car I was going to be driving.  I had always been embarrassed by the fact that I did not know how to drive a manual.  I had fears that I would be a good citizen, and offer to drive someone home who had had a little too much fun and that I'd find their car was a manual, and I'd have to take back my offer.  That never happened, but still, it was truly something I was embarrassed about, a secret I sort of kept to myself.  My father tried to teach me once on our old truck, and by old, I mean one from the 40's that was a double clutch.  I tried once, and it was difficult, so my stubbornness won over and I gave up.


So, when I learned that the car I was going to be driving, like most in UK, was a manual, my stomach dropped.  I called on friends and family who I knew knew how to drive a manual, and had many offerings of help and support.  No one was shocked I didn't know how, nor did they make fun of me because I couldn't drive one.  Who knows why I had made this "secret" such a big deal in my head!


My father said he wanted to teach me, since he hadn't before, so we set to finding a car to learn on.  Dad asked at the car rental place, but they said they no longer carried manuals because people only rented them to learn how to drive them.  Hmmm... odd, isn't it? :)  Thankfully, a dear friend, whom I will always be grateful for, Sarah, let me borrow her manual car so that I could learn to drive it before I had to learn to drive on the other side of the road.


I had no idea how different it would be, and for some reason I really thought I'd pick it up in a flash - rather naive of me, I know.  I thought the hardest part would be shifting gears... So, as dad and I pulled out of the driveway, thankfully on a country road, and did a loop around the "neighborhood," my level of frustration rose with every stall - and there were quite a few!


After I calmed down, I decided to take it one step at a time - yes, I know, a much better idea!  I practiced starting and stopping on the driveway.  Yep, that was it, just starting and stopping without stalling.  Before I returned to the car to give it another shot, my mom had reminded me of the time I learned to jump rope.  It was first (or maybe second) grade at Iola Roberts Elementary School.  We were doing Jump Rope for Heart and learning how to jump rope.  I had a very difficult time.  In order to "pass the test," I had to jump 25 times in a row.  I could do a few, and then, I'd trip over the rope or slap myself with the rope.  I came home each afternoon and practiced.  My determination was uncanny, and something I wish I showed in more aspects of my life.  Finally, one day in gym, it clicked.  I was jumping for the coach, and several other students were gathered around.  We started counting, and the closer I got to 25, the more nervous I got.  When I hit 25, my coach cheered because she knew how hard I had been working.  But I didn't stop there, no, I got into the 50's that day!  I can still remember the rush of excitement, the thrill of accomplishment that I felt.  So, with the story of jumping rope in my mind, I decided that if I could stop and start the car 25 times without stalling, I could call it an accomplishment.


Just like jumping rope, I could do it several times, but then would rush and not concentrate.  There were a couple of times I hit 10 or 11 and then would stall again.  Finally, I hit 25, and just like jumping rope, I kept going!  With that new sense of accomplishment (and because the geese wouldn't get out of the driveway!), I decided to get back on the road again.  I found a quiet dead-end street where I practiced starting and stopping on hills (man that is tough!), then went for a spin around the "neighborhood."  It was amazing what a few hours did to my confidence!


I practiced for a couple of weeks, and even conquered fears such as driving on a busy highway, through a mall parking lot, and more!  And yes, of course I stalled several times when my nerves got the best of me, but I was able to get the car going again, too!  I even stopped at a redlight on an upward slope with a cop next to me and a porsche behind me without stalling or hitting anyone!  Yep, that was a major feeling of accomplishment!


I'll need to remember the lessons I learned while driving when I go to the UK.  Yes, of course I'll need to remember to put the clutch in to start the car, to gently release the clutch as I press the gas, and remember to return the car to first gear at stop signs, but I'll also remember to take it slow.  Things aren't always going to come easily, they take time.  However, it is those things that you truly work for that bring you such a feelings of accomplishment and joy.  I know that things will be difficult along the way, but I also know that I'll come out a stronger, more confident side on the other end.  I just need to remember that I can always bring it back to 1st gear.