Let me tell you how I became an Uber driver and how it only lasted for a few months.

I have always loved to drive. Short trips. Long ones. In my 20's, I thought nothing of getting into my 1970's Honda and driving up the east coast to visit friends in NYC, Boston and Maine. I even learned to drive a stick shift 14 passenger van overnight to take a group of children camping in WVA.

Fast forward. When my professional psychologist partner died suddenly 11 years ago, I was 65 years old. I reluctantly chose to retire from very satisfying work as an educational diagnostician, and I closed our practice. I have always been a volunteer, so I plunged more deeply into volunteer work. But I was still restless and wanted an adventure.

Enter Uber driving. Here was my chance to reach back in time and channel my love of driving. So, I applied, cleared all the background checks and was on my way.

I was excited yet had some trepidation and quickly, I encountered a few unexpected challenges. The first was the Uber App which is designed with younger people in mind. The font was very small. I couldn't clearly see the addresses. I fixed that with progressive glasses. Second, the App wasn't easy to figure out, but I also overcame that one. I also discovered that you never know where you're taking a customer until you hit the accept button – which could mean BWI in the middle of rush hour and I don't call that fun. I couldn't easily check that one off. Still, I persevered. My husband was my first customer and that was easy. He even gave me a "5". My second was a college-age student whose father wouldn't let her drive because she had ADD. Since I evaluated individuals for ADD, she and I had a lively conversation, and I easily took her to her destination. Then I had a distressing assignment to pick up an elementary aged child from sports practice. It was raining and the child wasn't at the pick-up place, and I got a recorded message when I called his mother. I never found that child, but fortunately his mother did! I had a few more uneventful assignments.

So far, I'd been lucky. No Dulles or BWI trips at rush hour. But the showstopper was my autoimmune disease that causes very dry eyes and sometimes less than optimal vision – and this is a big reason why I called it a day. I'd had my fun, and my small number of clients rated me highly. I had my Uber driving experience and I was ready to return to my everyday life as a satisfied retired Uber driver.

This is part of an occasional series of Weekly Update articles by NNV Board Members on topics of interest. Jamie Butler has a long and deep history of volunteerism including visiting older persons in assisted living to her own personal experience helping family members with challenges as they age. Click here to read more about Jamie and our other Board Members.