I could get used to $4 gas.

I’m not spending more on fuel, after all. I’m just driving less. Which means more free time on evenings and weekends. More hanging out at home and at the homes of nearby friends.

Fortunately, I live close to stores and restaurants, so I can still eat out and shop. I’m just doing both of those things closer to home than in the past.

The time savings is a mixed bag. Advantage: more pool time. Disadvantage: harder to avoid housework.

Before, on Saturdays and Sundays, errands that involved the longest drive times went straight to the head of the to-do list. Now I know why: The very act of driving feels dynamic and productive. When you’re on a mission, you don’t feel guilty about weeds that need pulling or clothes that need washing.

Friends used to ask, uncomprehendingly, why I would drive 80 miles to get peaches or 150 miles to buy a rose bush. I always said because I was willing to spend more time to get the best. But now I know the other half of the answer: The road trip itself was part of the appeal.

I never realized until I started cutting back on the 89 percent octane how much I love highway driving. Recently I visited a friend and her new baby at the hospital. I told my husband and some friends how I planned to get there: north on Interstate 35, east on Interstate 70, south on U.S. 71, west on Interstate 435 to Nall Avenue — basically, a many-mile, multistate, almost-roundtrip.

That elegant solution was received with incredulity. “Why wouldn’t you just go straight down Nall? Nall is only a couple of miles from here,” my husband volunteered.

“Your way is fine. Just allow an extra hour,” my friend said.

In the end, I took Nall. It was a nice drive, except for only being able to go 35 mph and having to stop at 87 traffic lights. It has been easy cutting back on city driving. But I miss the open road. I like the physical sensation of moving at 70 miles per hour.

On the bright side, my more local, slower-velocity life feels calmer. The weekends feel longer. I’m cooking more, an activity I adore. I’ve gotten back into my daily Sudoku habit and regained my former skill level (“demanding” in compilations edited by Will Shortz). Subtitled foreign films from Netflix are a regular treat.

According to yoga experts and some doctors, calmness is healthier than rushing around. It isn’t my natural state, but if gas prices stay high, I could get used to it.