It's right, but feels so wrong

Being sound in mind and body takes work, especially as we age. Healthcare experts now advocate exercising your brain. This can take a variety of forms, from crossword puzzles to learning a new skill to using your opposite hand for common tasks.

If these things truly rejuvenate your brain, I should be good to go for another decade or so. My husband and I just got back from two weeks in Ireland where we tackled a bunch of brain-taxing skills:

• Driving on the opposite side of the road. On the opposite side of the car. Shifting with the opposite hand.
  
• Navigating in a place where the streets have no names. Or, if they do, they're not posted anywhere.
  
• Reconciling the differences in directions given by a Garmin GPS, Ordnance Survey maps, and locals.
• Dodging cows, sheep, and buses on narrow, rock-wall lined roads, which are more like foot paths.

It was all a little scary, but we survived with nary a scratch to animal or vehicle. And now we should be reaping the benefits to our brains for years to come.

If you're inclined to give this a try, you should first read up on Irish driving. One good source is "Surviving Driving in Ireland" by Rick Steeves. Then be bold and take the wheel -- the right-hand drive wheel. It may feel wrong, but it's the right way to go.