I think if I had more practice, driving in the dark wouldn’t be so bad.
Unlike Hubs I do not memorise the route so each curve, each bridge, each pothole is a surprise in the half light of early morn.
Along the country roads pitch darkness surrounds me, trees blend with the sky, property boundaries merge with the pavements, the only lights are the ones land-owners have strung on their fences or hung on their entrance-ways.
All is unfamiliar.
One back road this morning had just been re-surfaced. Its glossy black top shines under my lights. Without cats-eyes or yellow white lines to guide me I grow disoriented.
“It’s almost sun-rise,” I remind myself as I approach a corner.
With no cars in front to follow, none behind to check on, I am completely alone. Bushes loom on either side, cows begin to appear in my peripheral vision, grazing their fields, a sliver of moon slips from behind a barn casting a silvery grin in the sky. As I bump over a bridge I make the sign of the cross and at once notice faint yellow lines glowing just in front of me; Hansel and Gretel-esque breadcrumbs to guide me.
God must’ve heard my hurried prayer.
On the way home in full daylight the back way has no lines.
My brights must have picked them up through the thin coating of tar.
I make the sign of the cross once more in thanks for my answered prayer in the morning.
All is familiar now; every curb, bridge and pothole.
My journey is no longer hazardous and I marvel at the difference light makes in the world.
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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