My mother never...

My mother never drove on the highway. She gets around by taking local roads and back roads. And, if she can't use local or back roads to get to where she needs to go, she doesn't go.

For example, the Costco we go to is in the next town over. So, if my mom has a sudden urge to buy something in bulk, she takes a random route, taking roads the rest of us didn't know even existed. It may take her fifteen minutes longer to reach the store, but she successfully avoids driving an inch on the highway.

Driving on the highway scares my mom. No, it terrifies her. She's not a fan of the idea of cars zooming past her or cars cutting her off. She's more of a 25 miles per hour, wait your turn kind of driver. So, she has never driven on the highway, and she doesn't plan to learn how to. She's comfortable driving on local roads, like she always has.

I have only driven on the highway once myself. When I finally do drive on the highway (when I have access to a car), I know I will be a bit anxious. I wonder if this is because new drivers are always anxious when braving the highway. Or because my mom's nerves have affected me more than I know. No matter what, I see driving on the highway in my future; I'll make sure of it. Not because I don't have the time to spare taking the back roads, but I want to be able to drive on the highway just because.