Drowsy Driving Fail

Hello again.

It's me, the funny blog lady. My car wouldn't start this morning (dead battery) and it occurred to me that perhaps it is rebelling against me and my occasionally dodgy driving ways. Today's story may explain why dear Maximus quakes in fear whenever I get into the driver's seat and start the engine...

As some of you know I used to be a carer, and this job involved getting up at the crack of dawn most days (6am usually - especially painful in winter). Now I would not say I am the best morning person. I am one of those people who wanders round the house, bleary eyed and unable to form a sentence or change facial expression until I've had a cup of tea and time to recover from my slumberous state. This particular, bitter cold, February day was no exception. Waking at the harsh, uncaring trill of the alarm, my heart sank, knowing soon I would have to get out of my warm, cosy bed haven and into the cold, dark world. I munched my breakfast, slumped on the sofa. I put on my uniform. I tied my hair up and put my contact lenses in, as best one can when their eyes are 90% closed. And I wandered outside to get into my car. Now, our drive is complicated as we have four cars; normally two are in the garage and two side by side on the drive. This time, I noticed that dad's car was next to mine on the drive, as usual, but my sister's car was parked at an angle behind my dad's car, presumably she had come home too tired to bother getting it in the garage.  Some small, almost awake part of my brain let out a tiny, faded glow of light, almost registering that I should be careful when reversing not to catch it. Almost.

I got into Maximus. I turned the heater up to full, shivering. As I started to reverse back, (without looking in my side mirrors) I was just trying to remember whether my ID card was in my pocket or not, when...

SCRAAAAAPE.

Oh no.

I got out, waking up abruptly. That had been quite an ugly noise. I felt along my sister's car worriedly. Yep, sure enough, I had scratched my sister's car. It was still too dark to see the extent of the damage yet. Pants. After standing in the cold for a couple of minutes, flailing, I decided, being the grown up, responsible adult that I am, that the best thing to do was to drive away and text my sister the bad news when I was far, far away.

Luckily for me, my sister had a rainbow of scratches already on her car and said she couldn't tell which one I had done, so she let me off. As for my Maximus, he has a fresh new dint in him, with a few red specks wedged in there that had been peeled off my sister's car. Oops.

What I learnt from this experience, which I hope will help you all in life too, is that operating a vehicle, or heavy machinery, is not advised whilst still half asleep. However, if you are going to attempt it, park it near a car that is already scratched, and maybe the owner won't notice the difference.

Have a good day everyone, and careful driving.

Kind regards,

Your loving squid.