Over the past couple of days my driving has reached a new level of expertise. On Saturday I drove to Blockbuster from Ross’s grandma’s house to return a movie. Today, I drove to the Watertown Mall so we could get a softball glove and a chess set, then to the Starbucks** down the road to get coffee, and then I drove home. After a pee break, I drove us to the Trader Joe’s in Coolidge Corner where we picked up some groceries for the week. There was some tension when I couldn’t decide which lane I wanted to be in, but otherwise, all these eminently productive trips went just fine.

In other words, I have now reached the stage of driving with a purpose, useful driving if you will, as opposed to “Let’s see how many times we can make this loop around Western Ave before dinner” driving. If someone is beside me telling me where to turn and reassuring me that no one is going to do anything crazy like drive across my path — or at least that if anyone does anything crazy like drive across my path, they will be breaking the law — I can run errands in my car. I am officially useful.

Next weekend, rotaries.

AAM*** update: the little bug has driven the five people taking care of him to exhaustion already, and he’s barely three days old! What a prodigy. Apparently he has a very distinctive cry — I was not able to ascertain if it is distinctively cute, or distinctively annoying. Also, he currently sleeps for no more than two hours at a time, so chances are, he’s awake right now. Hi, Asher!

*(For a real driver.)

**No, I do not think Starbucks is evil, and I drink their coffee often even though I am also fond of independent coffee shops. Perhaps one day I will write a post explaining why.

**Asher Avinash Moey, for those of you not paying attention. My family loves acronyms. Perhaps one day I will write a post explaining “G.R.,” “C&G,” and “ECA.” In the meantime, just believe me when I say it’s the government’s fault.