Jan 4: Independence

When I got my first car the summer before I went to college, I was overcome with a feeling of self-determination. With a full tank of gas and no one to answer to, I could "just go" whenever I wanted to. I could keep going, too, as far and as long as the gas gauge (and my bladder) would let me. It was a pretty monumental moment; one that I gradually began to take for granted. 

But today, it was not lost on me. The joy of independence has momentarily returned to the forefront of my mind. 

For the past 3 months, Stephen and I have been commuting together an average of an hour and fifteen minutes each way from Brooklyn to Westchester. Sometimes spending over 3 hours a day in the car together. It wouldn't make sense to go separately - wasted fuel, tolls, time. And overall, it was as enjoyable as a long commute could be - shared moments of just being together. Sometimes with music or talk radio. Sometimes with stories of the day, our pasts, or the future. And sometimes just sharing the same, quiet air. But it also required an unending stream of compromise - leaving in the morning depending on who had the earlier appointment, having to negotiate where to get lunch (with so few options available), one of us inevitably waiting around at the end of the day for the other to finish. And we were prisoners of traffic patterns - never leaving Brooklyn between 8 and 9 am and never heading home between 4 and 6pm, for fear of being caught in mind-numbing, infuriating standstills. 

Today was our first real day going to work from our new (if temporary) home base. 12 miles to work on our choice of half a dozen routes. I was still eating my oatmeal when Stephen kissed me goodbye and headed out for the day. I took a more leisurely morning, heading to the gym and Target before hitting the highway. The very same highway I drove my new car on for the first time when I was 18. 

Crisp, clear, and wide-open skies beckoned to me. I could go anywhere I wanted... but I knew I was already there.