40 Days Till 40 (Day 8)

ON THE ROAD...AGAIN

Living in a semi-small town can be amusing.  Sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest difference.  The attitude regarding travel, for example. 

This week was quite a busy one for my daughter and me.  Although we were technically on vacation at a hot springs resort, we still had to return home (an hour away) for a rehearsal on Thursday night.  On Friday, we checked out of the resort, drove back home for my daughter’s singing lesson, then to Carson City (a half hour away) for a rehearsal and then back home again.  Today (Saturday) we returned to Carson City for a photo shoot, an audition and lunch with a friend and then drove back home again.   

In the Reno area, this is no big deal.  When one says, “It’s half an hour away”, generally this means that it is approximately 20-30 miles away.  This is not true in certain larger cities, where it may take a half an hour to go 5 miles.

Having moved to this area from Southern California, it doesn’t usually bother me to travel to the other side of town (a whole 15-20 minutes!).  I know that I can read the freeway signs and know that the mileage roughly translates into the amount of time that I will spend on the road.  This is a luxury to which I have become accustomed. 

Which is why, when my ex-husband recently told me he’d accepted a job in Southern California, one of my first thoughts was, “Have fun in traffic.”  When he also told me in an email that he expected to take my daughter with him (and that he thought I should move there too), I uttered a few choice words typically only said while in traffic.

Needless to say, I don’t relish the idea of returning to the hustle and bustle of Southern California.  While I miss my friends, family, certain places (and restaurants), I do not miss the traffic.  Since living in Reno I have learned to drive for pleasure.  Sitting in my car for several hours represents a destination, a moving forward, a journey...not just a daily commute.  That's pretty hard to give up.  

We'll see what happens.  

Until tomorrow, Lovelies....

*Written on 1/11/14, yet due to internet failure not posted until the next day.