Parking

Do any of you have trouble (or phobias) with parking your car? I do! I can’t seem to get the entire parallel parking thing down. I’ve been known to drive 5 miles, turn around in order to try again. I’ve also gone around and around and around waiting for a space to open up.

Fortunately, the parking in shopping malls or grocery store parking lots are simple. You pull in and get out. Those types of spaces, I love!

Since my eye surgeries, I am even more paranoid about parking. Our Jeep isn’t bad. It’s small and I can usually just pull straight in to a place that requires a parallel parking job, thus avoiding the entire thing. My car is a sedan and slightly larger, but it does handle fairly well, and Hubby’s car, well, it’s a station wagon, and I’ll tell you, it doesn’t handle too well for those tight parking places.

Today I was in my car. The sedan. There was one place to park and it was not a place I could easily slip into to. It was also close to the time when they close up the post office, so I knew I had to park it, and get in there.

I tried to remember all that stuff in the drivers manual.

1. Put your blinker on to alert the drive in back of you that you are planning to park.
2. Pull parallel with the car in front of where you plan to park.
3. Put the car in reverse and turn the wheel sharply so that you are heading toward the curb.
4. Slowly back up and half way through the turn, begin to smooth out your turn.
5. If necessary straighten the car by pulling forward and back. (I did not need to do this. I was perfect first time in!)
6. Let go of your held breath and put car in park.

I was so proud of myself that I felt like skipping in to get the mail. Instead I walked quickly and got the mail, and then came home happily, so I could tell Hubby!

He was so proud!

So am I the only one who has trouble with parallel parking? Anyone else out there who has parking phobias?

Have a great Saturday!