First the good news. I drove east to attend a wedding and so far so good. No major headaches. Score one for our side. The secret - no pushing. I took two days to drive out, stopped before I was fatigued and during the festivities and subsequent vacation days, I paced myself - plenty of time to rest, ate well, slept. Ah - this is the life. (Or was -- back to work tomorrow.)
The not so good news? My memory is still an issue, or a non-issue as in it's non-ness is an issue. I drove to my friend's home in northern New Jersey. Mind you this is a place I've been many many times. (She drove us to the wedding venue so I wouldn't have the challenge of new terrain, and because what could be better than girl time on the way to a wedding.) I got lost coming home. The first mishap happened in her town, just blocks from her house on a road I've traveled many times. I missed the turn and drove around for about 20 minutes before back tracking and starting over. At least I knew something was amiss. Thank heaven for small favors.
The second mishap wasn't so pretty. Once I get on I-80, it's a pretty straight shot to home, at least until I get into very familiar territory and in rescue range of Illinois friends. All went well until I got close to the Illinois border. There was a detour sign for I-80/90. Was that my road? The run up to Illinois is poorly marked and confusing under the best of circumstances. But in my present state of hyper alert and overcompensation for my lack of memory, it was even more so. I got very confused and took the marked detour exit. Alas, the rest was not so well marked and I found myself wandering the seedier side of Gary, Indiana and environs looking for a way home. I do have coping strategies - the first was to find a safe place to stop and google directions. I followed the big H signs figuring a hospital parking lot would be a reasonable place. The signs petered out before I found the hospital. I found a road I knew Route 20/12. Ah - LaGrange Road. If I could follow that it would eventually bring me to some place familiar. Again, the road signs abandoned me and I found myself in South Chicago. Cottage Grove! Tough neighborhood but I knew I was near the University of Chicago. Familiar enough that I figured I could find my way home. Finally, I saw a group of police officers on a corner and pulled over to ask for directions. One very kindly gave me directions to the Kennedy expressway and I gratefully did a U-turn and completely passed the street he mentioned. At least I knew I'd made a mistake, turned myself around and got home safely an hour later.
Perhaps most jarring was not recognizing the most familiar. I hit the Eisenhower and entered the Twilight Zone. From there to home - again a very familiar road - everything looked different. Familiar but not. I wondered the entire drive if this was right. I had to trust that it was and just keep moving.
It's a strange feeling having to trust instinct - note to self - Don't over think, trust that instinct. I would imagine it's what someone who suddenly goes blind would have to do, trust those deeper senses. I'm learning.
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