Urban Dictionary defines deer in the headlights as "a mental state of high arousal caused by anxiety, fear, panic, surprise and/or confusion, or substance abuse."

Having been in Toastmasters, I've seen a lot of people displaying anxiety, fear, and sometimes panic as they prepare to give a speech, bringing the deer in the headlights visual to life.

But the phrase gained a whole new meaning—or maybe it's actually the original meaning—after I moved to the country.

The hours around dawn and dusk are fraught with peril on country roads. That's when deer seem to be on the move. Monday morning, I was driving on one of the roads near where we live when my headlights picked out a deer slowly walking across the highway. I was going around 55 mph, and not being certain the deer would make it across the road before I got to it, I had to practically stand on my brakes to stop the car in time. The deer nonchalantly continued across the road while I looked around with fear and anxiety for any of its buddies. They often move in herds: We frequently see five or six of them together running across our driveway and our fields.

I resumed traveling the road, continuing to keep a cautious watch for the deer's relatives. That was not the first time, and I'm well aware that it won't be the last, that I've had a near-collision with one of them. For the sake of the deer and my car, I hope the most I ever have are near hits. Better still to see them off in the distance in a field.