Lesson #5 - City Girls ARE NOT Meant for Country Roads

Country Lesson #5 – City Girls ARE NOT Meant for Country Roads – I am Sue Schlarman’s daughter.  That alone should tell you that driving is an area of weakness for me, as it is for most Schlarman/Eifert women.  I’ve been pulled over for speeding several times in my 9 years of driving; however, I’ve never been in an accident before the country roads.   In my first driving disaster here, I turned an hour trip into a three hour trip.  I pulled into my professional development in Hazard with a large black crow stuck in my radiator.  Luckily, the bird’s wings were still flapping up over my windshield to alert all the other drivers that the girl in the white Corolla clearly didn’t belong.  In minor disaster #2, I slide off the road on the two mile trip from Josh’s parents’ house to our house and had to have his dad pull me out with his truck.  On the way to my bachelorette party a couple months later, I hydroplaned into the side of a mountain, causing $3,000 worth of cosmetic damage to my Corolla.  These disasters should have been a warning sign that commuting 3 hours a day on country roads to and from my job is not be the smartest idea.  Unfortunately, I got Sue Schlarman’s stubborn attitude as well.  On May 31, 2012, I was driving to work just like any other day.  On a curvier part of the trip, something unknown happened and I went off the road, flipping my new Prius seven times, causing a totaled car and over $400,000 worth of medical bills.  I was in the hospital for 37 days and had six months of outpatient rehabilitation for my fractured scapula, three traumatic brain injuries, three fractured vertebrae in my neck, broken finger, two broken ribs, and fluid-filled, punctured lungs.  It took over a month to gain strength to walk, shower myself, eat, and drink again.  I met some absolutely phenomenal people as a result of the accident and have come out even stronger than I was before.  Although I’ve come to accept that this city girl isn’t a country driver, or maybe a good driver on any roads, I’m finally back to driving nonetheless.  Country Lesson #5 – Country roads and city roads are not the same.  If you’re a bad city driver, you’re likely a bad country driver.  You’re just a bad driver J