So my friend/chauffeur got his car back on Monday. On his way to pick it up, he dropped my car off.
“Promise me you will not drive the car today.”
I hesitated. “I promise.”
Why the hesitation? Because I seriously considered whether or not this was a reasonable thing to ask? and would I be so foolhardy as to do it? and when would I start driving again? and…
“And promise me that you won’t drive again for the first time unless I am with you.”
“Why?”
“Because it would be a lousy thing to figure out part way that you couldn’t drive back home.”
“Fair enough. Okay, I promise,” I say resigned. But this is not unreasonable. It is good to test limits, but not when operating heavy machinery capable of killing others.
Walked in the house. Told mom of my promise. “I like him.”
So the car is parked in the driveway. And the way I feel right now, the promise was right. The doctor never explicitly said, “Don’t drive.” Maybe he thought I was reasonable enough not to do so…I wonder how many people are that reasonable? I was feeling so good Monday, I was sure I’d be back to old shenanigans by today.
Not so much. Not awful, but clearly, it will take more time. Jeff mentioned getting a doctor to say I can’t drive and getting taxi reimbursement. Sharon brought up the notion of short-term disability. Never even crossed my mind. Interesting notions of need vs. independence and agency flit by. No small part of it is self-perception.