The Cedarville Review 2020

36 | THE CEDARVILLE REVIEW Nonfiction LIMIT KATIE MILLIGAN 20 mph—Or, ADRENALINE limit [lim·it] /noun/: the final, utmost, or furthest point as to extent, amount, con- tinuance, procedure, etc; enclosed within boundaries. derived fromearly 15th-century Old French limite and the Latinate limitem . I have to slide the seat of my dad’s truck all the way forward to be able to reach the pedals. We’re in the gravel parking lot across the street from David’s Greenhouse on our road, proba- bly only a mile away from our house. My fingers quake slightly as I grip the steering wheel, too thick to hold comfortably, but the bumpy stitch- ing of the leather giving purchase to my sweaty hands. I’ve never driven before. Adrenaline production begins in the adrenal glands, which nestle above the kidneys. Its pri- mary purpose is to prepare my body for the fight-or-flight response to an external threat. It releases the hormone epinephrine throughout my brain, ultra-dilates my pupils (to let more light through), quickens blood flow to my mus - cles (which may cause shaking limbs), speeds the heart. It acts like a strange drug-in-reverse: I feel less pain, I havemore strength, I think more clearly. Addictive. O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel [in particular ]; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey's end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. —Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer , 1549