I’m addicted to my non-existent commute

Back at home I had to drive 45 minutes to work everyday and an hour back. I used to hate the drive, especially in the winter, where it could take two hours. Almost everybody commutes in and around Chicago. Those of us living the suburbs have to drive, as public transportation is a novelty (and also almost non-existent). I used to have to buy two or three CDs a week, just to keep my mind off my driving. I used to read in the car, and I’m ashamed to say I’ve even crocheted while driving.

Now I live five minutes from my job, five minutes from IHOP, five minutes from most stores, five minutes (if not five seconds) from all my friends. I have found in the last year and a half, I miss the drive. So in substitute, before and after work I often find myself passing my house or office and just driving in a neat circle (red bridge, blue river, blue ridge, grandview) sometimes when I have time or I need to think I find myself just driving in this circle, I’ll glance at my cell phone to see what time it is, only to note that several hours have gone by. My dearest friends know when to find me when I am upset; they call and ask “Do I need to drag you off blue river road?” It’s extraordinarily cathartic. It calms me down, it eases my mind and I find myself better able to handle odd situations.

One particularly hard week, I realized that I had been driving for several hours, so I went back to my apartment and grabbed a bag and decided to drive home for the weekend so at least I could say I went somewhere. On that trip in the middle of podunk Illinois I saw the aurora borealis (northern lights). It was amazing, I had to keep myself from driving off the road, and everyone on the road was driving with their head out the window. I’d stop looking for a few minutes but then I couldn’t help but keep turning my head to stare at this beautiful thing.

All that to say…

I have an addiction to aimless driving. I’m not sure how to stop. This is my confession of the day.