Intimidated driving

Driving is one of those skills that I hope to hang onto as a mom. It's one of those symbols of independence that I hope to keep as I get older. Many "moms" (as in my mom's generation) depend on husbands for various aspects of driving, whether unfamiliar surroundings, rental cars, night driving, highway driving, long distance driving, city driving. And being somewhat young and still independent, I didn't expect to be intimidated driving anywhere.

But the roads have now won once.

I was planning on taking Tom's parents along with the kids to the Exploratorium. It was free first Wednesday so I thought it was a good chance to discover a new museum (for the kids).

But we never made it there for various reasons:

Kids in car - The day we were thinking of going was at the height of my annoyance with Tobey's talking in the car. I could definitely see myself not being able to concentrate on driving with his running commentary or at the least being really agitated.
Grandparents in car - At that point of Tom's parents' visit, pretty much any long drive in the car, they fall asleep (I would too!). Which means that I would feel alone in the car, with no one to help keep me awake, especially on the drive back.
City driving - Getting to the Exploratorium required some city driving, which usually isn't a problem for me except...
Large minivan - With a couple of dings already under my belt, all of a sudden our minivan felt like it was a 30 foot RV. And...
Unfamiliar surroundings - I hadn't been to the Exploratorium in years. I studied the map but I would want an extra pair of eyes to help me through the tricky parts. But the most likely navigator is Tom's dad and his reaction time to my questions made me unsure if he would be effective for city driving. And the museum's placement in Golden Gate Park, I just remember it being tricky and near the Golden Gate Bridge, meaning, I didn't want to end up in Marin accidentally.

The SF Zoo also has free first Wednesdays and I was willing to do that drive seeing that I'm familiar with how to get there. But we saved that trip for when Kelsey and Morgan arrived. So maybe I shouldn't get all haughty about how I'm so independent and my mom/older generation are not. Because maybe as a parent, I've just become more cautious and recognize my limits. Or at least just know when to cut my losses, become more sensible and not need to prove myself at the risk of others.