Every year, after the first snow I learn the same embarrassing lesson. Really it’s not so much that I learn a lesson as repeat the same embarrassing mistake. I never remember to take my car out of four-wheel drive when it is no longer necessary. I’ve been doing this since I got this car few years ago. Justin expects me to believe the Auto 4WD button will solve this problem. If I just push that button then my car will magically know when there is snow and when four-wheel drive is needed and adjust itself accordingly. I’m not buying it. Trusting my big stupid car to determine whether four-wheel drive is needed seems a little reckless. This isn’t like the Driver 1 and Driver 2 option that moves the seat up and changes the radio station. This is life or death and I’d like to have a little control over that. I like to pull over, put it in neutral, and push the 4WD button. Not leave it up to some crazy car magic. The problem with this is the days after the storm when I am still in awkward, hard to steer, bumpy four-wheel drive and wondering what the hell is wrong with my car. The slushy day after it snows is not too bad. I can’t turn into a parking spot and I can hear the tires rubbing but I’m kicking ass in all this slush so I don’t worry much. The next day I am concerned, and on the third day I am pissed. One year this little mind slip went public when I started telling people something was wrong with my car and this a-hole I work with asked if it was still in four wheel drive. I could not hide my reaction to this. I would have loved to say, “Of course I remembered to take it out of four wheel drive, A-hole” and later, when no one was around, fix it. But the look on my face let the cat out of the bag and I will never live it down. Just when all the laughing was winding down someone called to tell my husband who said “Again?” and it was off to the races again. But this year, in an interesting and dangerous turn of events, Justin took it OUT of four-wheel drive BEFORE the slushy day. I understand that he was just trying to be proactive and save me the confusion later. I can see how he thought that since the sun was out and the snow had stopped, the danger was over. I get that. I’m just still a little upset that he tried to kill me. He knows that the street where I work has never ever been plowed. Seriously never. Everyone clears their parking lots but this just leaves all the snow from their parking lots in big piles in the street. So I was almost to work, driving on frozen snow and dodging giant snow banks in two-wheel drive. Except I don’t know that. I think I’m in four-wheel drive so I’m bouncing through this frozen tundra like I’m on a Chevy commercial. Until I tried to steer around a car (parked stupidly next to the snow piles I've been talking about). I fishtailed and slid sideways halfway down the street into another snow mound. While my car was sliding, it was weird how unemotional I was. It was like all the panic I SHOULD have felt kept going straight towards my office and then turned around and came back when it noticed I crashed. Like “Whoops, didn’t know you were going to swerve back there, sorry. But here I am, go ahead and freak out.” Physically, I was doing everything right. Tapping my brakes and screaming like they teach you in drivers ed. But I didn’t feel that instant panic and adrenaline until after, when I more than made up for my lack of reaction during. Anyway, no damage to me or my car. When I was done freaking out I just went about my day, I wasn’t even that mad at Justin when he got home. We made a deal. He will NEVER take it out of four-wheel drive EVER as long as I promise to take it out before summer time. Which is fair. Except writing this is making me mad at him again.
