Sometimes you do what you gotta do to cope.

I have a friend who is a kid’s musician as part of his musician profession. I don’t even know how or when we met, we just know each other, and a while back I ran into him at regional event that relates to my work. He kindly gave me one of his CDs, and I played it on the way home, curious.

That CD has been one of the best tools I have to cope while I’m driving.

Kid music often has a lot of wiggles and movement built into the lyrics, and I play it constantly while I drive. As much as the music is simple and quickly repetitive, it is also happy, sincere, full of wiggles and far from triggering for me while I drive. Listening to the radio has a lot of unknowns, and as I’ve now memorized all of the songs on this album, there are no unknowns, and it’s comforting!

What I did not realize at first is how important the wiggles are while I drive. I’m not having an all-out dance party, but I do move my shoulders and bop around a bit, and it keeps me loose and from clenching up as I’m prone to do when I’m under a lot of stress of have a lot of anxiety (i.e. when I drive). Those movements, particularly moving my shoulders, have made things so much easier for me while I drive, and help tremendously to keep me from locking up in a freeze position.

Silly? Yes. Stupid? Maybe. Working well for me and helping me add some happy to my day? Absolutely.