I have a pretty good memory. I remember lines and plots from movies I have seen, I can give you a full synopsis of the tv shows I watch, birthdates, phone numbers, and where I was and when. When a song comes on the radio, I can usually share a memory of who, what, where, when or why it was important at the time. I also remember anniversaries of events, some meaningful, some not.

The last few days, I was remembering some of those times. A year ago was this event that I went to, and a year ago was this concert I went to. Part of the reason that I remember the dates is because last year they fell around Martine’s birthday, which was on Friday.

Last night we went out to celebrate Martine’s birthday. We went to the Keg in Aurora. I had volunteered to get there a few minutes early, as the line for that location is always quite long (as with most Keg restaurants). I left my house a bit late and didn’t really want to go up Bathurst all the way to Wellington. I started to head across highway 7 to the 404, knowing it would be much faster to go up the 404 to Wellington then Bathurst, Young or Bayview.

Got on the 404 and was listening to my music and everything was great. It was like I had done it 1000 times before. The funny thing is that since my car accident, I really haven’t done it a 1000 times. It is a road that I don’t have to use on a daily basis and therefore don’t have to be on there unless I choose to be.

This did not occur to me until I drove past the sign that said Stoufville side road, and then I realized where I was. I was travelling northbound, not southbound, but at that exact moment my heart started to beat faster and I had to take a few deep breaths.

But I worked through it and moved forward…..so much so that I got off at the next exit which wasn’t Wellington which I realized after I got off the ramp, but Bloomington. DAMN, I was so in my own head that I didn’t watch the signs.

Anyways, I turned up Leslie which is really ‘country’ roads and had no idea where the hell I was. I followed it around, and then there was a fork in the road, so I figured I had to go north, so I followed. I was just about to phone my dad (ear buds in, phone out and ready to dial), and there was a MAIN road – Wellington! One quick right turn and I was there, and early!

I had planned to go home on the 404, but I ended up going on Bathurst, which was fine.

It takes me a long time to put things behind me and really start to move forward. I don’t know why it takes me such a long time, but it does. Even though I will never forget my accident, thankfully it is moving far enough away from my memory that it allows me to live my life on my terms.