Chase's Chatter: The best I've ever driven

It seems as though I’m always in my car. Between driving for work or play and everything in between, the very action of driving a vehicle has become as casual as brushing my teeth. Because of this monotony, I usually don’t even think about whether I’m driving well or not. I just drive.

Granted, I consider myself a good driver, but I don’t usually focus specifically on driving well, I just drive and focus on the road as I’ve been programmed to do.

But there was an instance last month in which I believe I drove my absolute best. Unlike the usual, all I thought about was my driving skills. And my attention was laser-like for a few factors. For starters, I was driving in Washington around the Seattle area. Is there any better way to glue your eyes to the windshield than to drive in a completely alien environment? But the principle whetstones that honed my focus on driving were two people in the backseat – my girlfriend’s parents.

My girlfriend and I had driven my car up to Washington for her sister’s wedding. Considering it wasn’t exactly a short trip to the Evergreen State, we decided to make the most of it and spend a few days visiting her parents and other branches from the family tree. In a stroke of serendipity, my birthday happened to fall on the day after the wedding. 

My girlfriend’s parents, gracious and welcoming hosts offered to take the whole crew of family members out for dinner to celebrate my most recent rotation around the sun. Naturally, I pounced on the opportunity to eat at the highly-recommended local Mexican restaurant and wear the festive birthday sombrero.

But as our party of nearly a dozen leftover wedding attendees arranged to leave for the restaurant, it was decided that my girlfriend, her parents and I would ride together. And I would be driving.

Under most circumstances, I am a very confident driver. As I said, I generally don’t even think about the act while I’m doing it. But as I buckled up and saw my girlfriend’s parents in the backseat through my rear-view mirror, I became very aware of my driving skills. You see, I was still very much trying to leave a good impression on these warm and welcoming people.

When meeting a significant other’s parents, it only seems natural to hyper-fixate on how you come across. If you’ve been in this situation, I’m sure you can relate. You want your collar to be straight, you want your hair tidy. In any sense, you want to present the best version of yourself. 

In this instance, I desperately hoped my partner’s parents wouldn’t arrive at the restaurant and think, “Wow, this boy’s driving is terrifying. Is our daughter even safe?”

After buckling up and adjusting my mirrors perhaps more than necessary, I slowly rolled out of their gravel driveway. From that moment onwards, I could’ve been the poster child for a driver’s ed course. I drove exactly the speed limit, took each turn at a leisurely pace and used my turn signals as if they were flares and I were adrift at sea. We still made conversation and spoke about oddities here and there, but my attention never veered far from the road. I had become a machine designed to drive that machine.

And my efforts must’ve paid off, because my girlfriend’s parents didn’t voice any concerns about my driving when we arrived at the restaurant. In fact, they didn’t comment on my driving at all, which I took as a good sign. In  retrospect, they probably weren’t even paying attention to my driving, despite my laser focus. And upon returning from Washington, we had a fantastic time socializing and bonding. In hindsight, I may have wasted some adrenaline and forehead sweat worrying about my driving skills.

Sometimes you just have to remind yourself you’re a good driver.