Little Sir is six. Six and a half he’ll tell you.
He has taken to telling me how to drive. “Why did you get over?” “You should get over.” “Are you going too fast?” “Go faster.” “Why did you go this way?” “You should have gone the other way.”
I finally said, “Look, until you have your license, don’t tell me how to drive.”
But then I thought for a second and added, “Actually, until you get your license and have been driving for as long as I have, don’t tell me how to drive.” Figure I’m safe there.
I blogged about changes ahead and it’s stunning how many folks want to tell me what to do or are certain I’m making a huge mistake.
The life metaphor that has always resonated with me the most is that life is like a big road trip. And I’ve always wanted to keep moving forward, avoid the scary detours and wrong turns and really avoid u-turns taking me back the way I all ready came or taking too long at rest stops…
I want to see interesting places along the way, take alternate routes when they offer something good to see or do, cause no harm, no littering, no cutting people off… and when I reach the end, feel good about my trip, my driving skills, and how well I took care of my passengers along the way.
When I went through my divorce, an image that came to mind is how long I’d been pulled over waiting for him to get where he needed to be so we could continue our travels together. And I just couldn’t wait any longer. Leaving him behind was gut wrenching.
After my most recent break up, part of me felt sad for him. Sad he was missing out on all the places I’m going. But there are lots of routes and I wish him well on the one he’s chosen.
But I’ve been driving a while now. And while having someone else to share the driving with is nice, driving solo is not going to keep me from getting where I want to go.
So, let’s review: I have a pretty good driving record. Not perfect, but I get the good insurance rates. I may be in a different lane than you think or taking a route you don’t prefer, but that’s the privilege of driving.
Stay in your own lane. Listen to your own GPS.
Safe travels.