Hi, my name is Tiffany, and I am Directionally illiterate

For those of you who know me, or have ever driven with me, you know that I have absolutely NO sense of direction! My philosophy on directions is this:

As long as you are going straight, you are going NORTH. If you are in reverse, you are going SOUTH, and if you make a right or left turn, you are going EAST or WEST only until you complete the turn, and then you are going NORTH again, as long as you are going forward.

Yeah, it sounds absurd, it IS absurd! But, it's the truth! I have NO CLUE where I am going without landmarks to show me the way. Chris often jokes that in order to find my way somewhere new, I need a big cowboy statue with a blinking cowboy hat on, with his finger pointing in the direction that I need to go. He is probably right. I can tell you where certain stores are, I can tell you where freeways are, but I cannot tell you if I am driving N,E,S or W. I HAVE to be told LEFT or RIGHT in order to find my way. Oh, and telling me landmarks is EXTREMELY helpful! Forget downtown Houston where most streets are one way and I get all turned around! I refuse to drive downtown by myself. I would be that one idiot going the wrong way down a one way street.

When I am the one navigating, I have to turn the map upside down in order for the road I am currently on to be facing NORTH, the direction I am ALWAYS going. With each new turn, the map gets turned again and again, until I reach my destination. My dear wonderful husband, on the other hand, can be standing in the middle of the desert and he can tell you which side is E,W and so on, just by how the sun is facing! I am totally amazed by that! I can't even remember which side the sun rises on, and which side it sets on, I just know that is rises in our backyard and sets in our front yard.

So, on that note, Wednesday I had to drive to Tx Children's (BY MYSELF) for Grayson's followup appointment. This trip involves 1.5 hours of driving, and it involves 7 different freeways! My biggest accomplishment of the year (yes, it even surpassed childbirthing).........I DID NOT GET LOST! Now, this is not any small feat for me. I didn't have to use the key map, I didn't have to have a printed version of google directions, nor did I have to call Chris to ask him where I was or how to get out of there! I drove straight there, pulled right in to the clinic, parked my car, and drove home! Oh, and I even remembered to look (and remember) where I parked in the parking garage and found my way right back there too! Something else that my husband is usually in charge of! I amazed myself today! Never in a million years would I have told you that I could drive by myself to the medical center, navigating my way without a map! Oh, and did I mention that I was calm, cool, and collected the ENTIRE trip there and back? I felt like an old pro! I don't wish to do it again anytime soon, but finally after 15 years of driving, and over 20 years of living near Houston, I feel like I am learning my way around this crazy town!