Snow Driver

The first time I drove in the snow I thought I was going to die. I had no idea how the rules change, how quickly things can shift underneath you; I was just some California transplant with a fast car and lead foot. We’d gotten maybe a foot overnight. I did ok coming out of the neighborhood, but as soon as I got to the first intersection, I pressed the brake and everything went sideways. I ended up in the middle of the intersection, pointed back the way I came, my heart thudding in my chest and my balls trying to crawl back inside. I carefully drove a half circle, headed back towards work, and promptly slid into the curb. It was ridiculous, I thought, even with good tires there’s just no way to keep the car on the road. Hit two more curbs on the way in. I thought I would never get it; I thought I was gonna die in one of those snowstorms. It took about a week, and I started to figure it out… I was driving hard, like I would on my old roads, too fast in the straightaways, and I was hitting the brake with too much force. Driving on snow takes patience and feel, and I had neither. Eventually I learned though, to slow down in the straights. To lift my foot and coast into the stop, only very gently fluttering my foot on the brake, never stomping down. Sometimes when our situations change, it takes time to adapt, to learn the new rules. I thought I was gonna die. Instead, I need to learn to take it slow, to coast, and to only very gently apply the brakes. I will learn to drive on this new road, just takes patience, and feel.