Today I did two things I thought I would never do. Both involve driving through certain areas.

We were invited to a birthday party about 45 miles away. The only thing was that the directions there called for me to drive on I285 in Atlanta, a road that makes me nervous just riding on. I've never driven on 285, and I've always sworn I would find a way to stay away from it. To me, the stress of riding on it just wasn't worth it. With that in mind, I used Google Maps to find a back roads route.

I looked up the directions and didn't pay too much attention to where all it took me. As long as I didn't drive on 285, I was fine... Or so I thought.

I took off with three kids in the backseat. While Little Man slept, Angel Baby and Monster Man were determined to jabber about everything that came into their minds. Almost every sentence that Monster Man said started with "Hey Mommy..." This was all fine and dandy, until I found my first problem. One of the roads was closed, and the detour signs weren't clearly marked. I had to backtrack and ask for directions.

When I got back in my car and headed around the closed section of road, I discovered I was going to have to face my one other main fear (besides riding on 285). I would now have to drive through downtown Atlanta.

I haven't been into downtown Atlanta in over 5 years, and I've literally NEVER driven in downtown Atlanta. Needless to say, I had to keep a close eye on all the roads. I was trying not to go crazy while I faced my first fear. The entire time, despite my request to keep quiet for a few minutes, Monster Man and Angel Baby continued to jabber, and then proceeded to get into an argument. My nerves were shot by the time I got through downtown Atlanta.

When we finally got to the party, twenty minutes late, I was so glad to get out of the car. I also knew that I had to find a different route home. There was no way that I was going through downtown Atlanta on the way home, especially knowing that the sun would be starting to set by the time we left.

I ended up facing my second fear on the way home. I followed a friend back to 285, and then braved my way home from there. Thankfully it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. The kids still jabbered, and this time Little Man cried for part of the ride, but my nerves were so much better by the time we got home.

I'm so glad that I was able to face two of my biggest fears today... and that I survived!