Holiday Survival Guide: Saturday Night

Last Saturday, I had to drive from Beverly Hills to Orange County in the middle of the night. This was going to be an hour drive, and I was up to the task.

Of course, after driving 40 miles on an empty freeway, I started noticing that my eyelids were getting heavier. So what to do? I was about 20 miles away from home and I would hate stopping and taking a nap in some parking lot while I could be in my own bed in 20 minutes. So I opened a window letting the cold air slap my face and wake me up. I kept driving. A few minutes later I had to turn upbeat music on the radio, then pick up a gum to chew...

I was only a mile away from my exit, when I heard a loud drilling noise of lane lights and then an annoying beep and flashing light on the car's dashboard telling me to break the car and pull over. 

My God! Did I fall asleep? My heart started pounding from the thought of what could have happen just now... 

A minute later I exited the freeway and got home safely. 

Sorry for telling you all this during the holiday season, but I think it is very important, especially now, during the holidays, when we enjoy partying late with friends and family. 

Fact: falling asleep while driving is responsible for at least 100,000 car crashes, 40,000 injuries, and 1,500 fatalities each year.

Holiday Survival Rule: whenever behind the wheel and feel tired, NEVER think that you can fight the fatigue by tricks like opening the window or loud music. Those tricks work for just a short period time only, and the fatigue will sneak up on you without you knowing it! Just pull over and take a nap for a few minutes. It's so worth it!

Having said that, it does not mean that I slept in on Sunday morning - Alex has a habit of coming to mommy the moment he gets up, and at 6:30AM sharp Alex was up, and so was I. 

The only energy I could possible squeeze out of myself was a trip to the Trader Joe's to get groceries (and flowers!), and carve a small pumpkin with Alex (which means I will be doing most of the work!)

Feeling happy.

xo Zuma A.

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