You Can't Steer a Parked Car

“At least nobody got hurt…”

My thoughts as I drove over, instead of around the roundabout…

Granted, the flowers weren’t looking too healthy, but I’d survived the excursion.

Sometimes what seems like the smallest thing to one person is a huge mission to someone else.

That was me when I went ‘solo’ for the first time driving on Spanish roads.

I’d been putting it off for weeks, making up all the lame excuses to not get behind the wheel.

It’s a new car. I’ve never driven a Land Rover or tackled an automatic.

And . . . the steering wheel is now on the wrong side!

There’s no possible way I can drive this down here.

But in my mind, I knew I had to tackle the beast…

I was losing my independence and relying on Andy to drive us everywhere we needed to go.

His enthusiasm for Lidl and Mercadona was starting to wane.

When people are procrastinating, Andy has a great saying to motivate them into action;

“You can’t steer a parked car.”

What he means is; you have to get started, otherwise you’ll never find your true direction.

He’s also great at breaking things down into bite-sized, manageable pieces, so that’s what he said we’d do to get me moving.

Or so I thought…

The plan was to start me on the big boulevards around here, which at this time of the year have more tumbleweeds than cars.

So, with much trepidation, I pushed the start button on our ‘Disco’, and we were off to explore the boundaries of my comfort zone.

And before I knew it, we’d kept going much further…

With his guidance and encouragement, I drove us into our local town and parked outside the Chinese bazaar (why are there so many of these places in Spain?)…

It was a massive milestone for me.

As I said, one person’s victory is another’s “so what?”

But for me, it was a big step forward in our new lives down here.

Two days later, he sent me ‘solo’.

Apparently I was safe to be out on my own.

He said, “Joolsy, it’s just like in business, you don’t have to get it perfect, you just have to get it going.”

Truth be known, he needed a lift to the Ke Bar for a ‘liquid’ lunch with the boys.

But anyway, so far so good…

In fact I’m embracing it now as I push on ever further in our trusty wagon.

Next week, I might even tackle the coast roads of the Costa de la Luz when we take off on our annual surf adventure.

My only regret in all of this?

I didn’t get going sooner, and of course, the poor flowers on the roundabout at the marina…

But hey, just like me, they came back even stronger the following year.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone 😘

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Post by Jules Le Cornu