Just Drifting

I've been thinking a lot lately about roads, choices and the people we travel life with. Like metropolitan turn-pike, some people take an exit too soon, choose the carpool lane, or stay in the fast lane. Some are careful, defensive drivers, while others want to get from point A to point B in the fastest way possible. Our vehicles might have multiple passengers come and go. Other times we can find ourselves locked out, turned away right at the dealership.

There has been a fellow traveler in my life who has done a few Chinese Fire Drills, getting in and out, most often in a great panic or crisis. We have recently chosen separate roads, although it seems like we'll always be connected by some country backroad filled with memories. This isn't the first time that we've taken different vehicles, but I think that it has some finality to it. A fatal crash, no survivors of the friendship. A fork in the road with no tracks to find our way back.

It's sad really, that simple choices can accumulate to cause and create such havoc. One moment, just cruising along to the tunes, the next: wrong turn. Unfortunately, life doesn't provide us with a road map or built-in GPS. Even so, we're often going too fast to take notice of the signs along the way. Turn ahead, merge, slow for repair or inclement weather, dead end, final destination.

I don't know if any of you have had travelers like this, I'm just sharing one experience. We're both still on our own journeys, and pass each other on what is now a divided highway. There are others I have seen take their final exit whom I will remember and continue to learn from. I'm looking forward to my fellow travelers I have yet to join on the road of schools, careers and families.

Be safe on those roads, don't be afraid to take on a passenger, take time to appreciate your surroundings and share them with others.