I really like driving our electric car and I haven’t been to a gas station in a year. It’s easy to handle and there are warning lights everywhere. I guess most new cars have those lights but they are new to me. There’s a flashing light on each of the side mirrors that flashes whenever someone is in your blind spot. I

’ve gotten so I use the side mirrors more often than the review mirror when I am changing lanes.
Best of all, there’s a back-up camera with a screen on the dashboard. When I shift into reverse, whatever is behind me appears on the camera. It beeps if I get too close to anything.

So far, First Presbyterian Church is working out very well. It’s a downtown church which means parking is at a premium. The church has a parking lot, but it is very small. On Sunday mornings the only way to park there is if you have a handicapped sticker or get there very early.

The past two Sundays I have gone to the early service, which is at 8:45, so I’ve been able to park in their lot. The reason I have chosen to go to this service is I wanted to attend the Faith Formation class which is between both services. With my brain injury challenges I do better going to a calm service and then attending the class rather than attending the class and then going to a service with more stimulation. This Sunday I’ll do the class first and then attend worship. I’ll write about how that goes later.

Back to parking. Below you will find a map of the church and the area around it. The yellow squares are the lots that are free until 1 PM on Sundays. A few weeks ago, a friend took me around to the various parking lots and showed me where they were. However, it was raining and hard for me to get oriented.
I did remember one of the lots and sort of remembered another, so I appreciated her help. The first lot fills up as I discovered one Sunday when I ended up parking in the nearby parking garage. It is free for the first hour but after that, it costs $5 per hour. I really don’t want to spend that if I don’t have to.

Spatial orientation or sense of direction – is a big challenge for me. I also can’t read maps very well. Today I drove the electric car around the church to find the parking lots. I feel proud of myself because I was able to read the map and find the best parking lot that rarely fills up.

I really hate this spatial orientation challenge. I can’t explain it very well, but my brain gets very tired and foggy when I’m lost. I’m going to write the directions both ways on a piece of paper. Let’s hope I can find my way back to the car this Sunday!