Tried and True.

Due to the fact that Josh and I will be moving overseas in the next 6(ish) months, we have put a lot of miles on our car.  A LOT.  Many of these miles have been covered during the late hours of the night into the wee hours of the morning.  On several occassions, we have even gotten to the point where caffeine, loud music, windows down, and switching drivers every 30 minutes is necessary. Like last night, for example.

It can be horrible and stressful driving late at night but I'd like to think that Josh and I are getting pretty good at it.  I've composed a list of 10 tips that I would like to share with you if you find yourself driving the route from Michigan to Pennsylvania for the millionth time after an entire day of speaking engagesments on the same boring route you always take really late at night.

1. CAFFEINE.

2. Good music.  Music that engages your mind and soul and neck-bobbing muscles, preferably. (Last night's song of choice: Florence + Machine "Shake it Out".)

3. Once you've listened to all of the good music, find some funny music.  (This song kept us laughing for about an hour.)

4. After you've listened to the all of the Good and Funny music, throw on a comedian. Laughing makes everything better.  (Brian Regan and Mitch Hedburg are our personal favs.)

5. Find a good friend you can text who will sympathize with you while you complain about how miserable driving through Ohio is.

6. Recruit your facebook and twitter friends to text jokes to you. (Last night we received at least 40 jokes from 25 different people.  It really made the time fly by!)

7. Switch drivers regularly.  Don't be a late-night driving hero.

8. Express your appreciation to your driving partner about how thankful you are that they are on your team and that you aren't alone.

9. Once you hit that wall where you have to sit up straight and lean forward and the road takes longer to come into focus after you've checked your blind spot, keep your thoughts surface-y. I'm serious.  Don't go deep in your thought-life. Focus on the basics that are keeping you alive... like open eyes and breathing.  Do NOT think about your fears or anxieties or personal flaws or past arguments.

Last night as I drove the last stretch at 2:00am knowing I had a mere 4 hours of sleep ahead of me before I had to get up to go to work, I kept thinking of terrible things.  Things I was nervous about.  Things I didn't think were going to work out.  Things that upset me or make me frustrated.  Let me lay this out for you plainly:

Exhaustion and Reason are not friends.  They hate each other, in fact.

So don't think about serious things and especially don't talk about serious things with your spouse.  This is the worst idea ever.  Two exhausted, irrational people will never solve anything, I promise you that.  I did a great job "thought-bouncing" last night.  My left brain would say, "You should be mad about this!" but my right brain would bounce back with something shallow like, "Heyyy that's not fun to think about.  Lets listen to some Taylor Swift!"

10. When you get home just go straight to bed.  Try not to talk a lot.  Just GO LAY DOWN.

So there you have it.  Leslie's Late Night Driving Tips.  I hope at least a couple of them are helpful to you the next time you find yourself enduring a long road trip!