Driving

I do a lot of driving for my jobs. I think I've seen more of rural Vermont in the last month than I had ever before while living in Vermont. Well, except perhaps for the 2 years I lived in Vernon. Then I lived in rural Vermont, so I saw it a lot. ;-)

You might be wondering, "What does she do during those 12+ hours a week that she spends driving?" Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. Leaf peep. Don't worry--I have been watching the road more than the leaves, but this has been delightful this year. The leaves have been beautiful.

2. Watch out for deer and moose. So far, I've seen one deer and no moose (not that I'm complaining about that!).

3. Check out what other animals I can spy by the side of the road. I've noticed lots of cows and horses, some pigs, some sheep/goats, and I think an Alpaca or two.

4. Listen to sermon CDs/tapes. I've caught up on a few that I missed this summer. I just got an Alistair Begg series on evangelism from the church library. I'll start that tomorrow.

5. Listen to music. I do this a lot. I'll put the radio on "scan" until I find a song I like. Then I'll stop and enjoy. I'm particularly happy when I find good Christian music or 80's tunes (for the nostalgia value). If I'm in the mood, I sing along.

If that doesn't yield good music, I'll hit the CD button and listen to mine. This is currently the Beatles' One CD, so I'm enjoying all their #1 songs. Before that, it was a Rebecca St. James CD.

6. Listen to NPR. That way I catch up on the news, or interesting stories about other countries. Or sometimes an interview with a celebrity.

7. Pray. Yep, I do that a lot, too. I pray about work. I pray for people at church. I pray for church ministries. I pray for my family; I prayed for my sister in San Diego a lot last week because of the wildfires. (She's fine, by the way!)

8. Memorize Scripture. Usually I just work on one verse, sticking it to the steering wheel and meditating on it while I drive.

9. Drink caffeinated beverages and/or eat. 'Cause I need to stay awake and/or I'm hungry.

So there you have it. I'm toying with idea at some point of picking up books on tape. However, I generally enjoy reading books rather than listening to them. If I need something new to do, though, this is a possibility.