All of my Dads family lives by Detroit, so if I want to see them its a 3 hour drive each way. They always get together on Christmas Eve, so that’s when I spend the holiday with my Dad, then Christmas day with my Mom. Any way, I decided that this year I would just drive up in time for dinner at 3 and be back home by 10 pm so I would not have to leave the dogs overnight. I knew it would be a lot of driving but its not a bad trip, mostly one highway the whole way. Now I should mention that I HATE driving. I never even attempted to get my license till I was 18 because drivers ed was so stressful for me. Not that I did bad, I aced everything but when ever I get behind the wheel, especially if I get boxed in by other cars or god for bid semi-trucks, I feel like I am going to hyperventilate. I always figured it would go away after I got used to driving and for the most part it did. I have no trouble driving in familure territory, in good weather. I have driven the trip to Detroit several times and am confident that I know the way so I was not expecting any trouble. Besides how much traffic could there be late on Christmas eve? Well I was wrong. The trip up was not to bad, some traffic in Findlay and Toledo but not to hectic and very few trucks. Plus I was driving my mothers car with a serious radio to distract me. On the way home however, was a different story. I was leaving from my Aunts house in a part of the city I had never been to so I got on the wrong freeway and drove 30 min in the wrong direction, before I realized my mistake. (stress level raises to a 4) then I try and go the other way but cant find a place to get back on.(now I am at a 6) when I finally get back on the right way it is like every truck in the state has decided to drive right next to me! (straight to a 9) By this point I am thinking on of theses jack asses better get out of my way so I can pull off and cry in peace. I cranked up the radio (classic hard rock) to drain out the noise of the trucks around me and was able to hold my self together enough to make it through Toledo. After that it was clear driving, but I was still on edge the entire trip. While I am proud of my self that I did not loose it enough to have to pull over, or turn around (it has happened in the past) I am also worried that the memory of how stressful it was will keep me from being able to go back by myself. I already don’t get up there enough with out having to push my self to get over yet another fear.