Member-only story
Lost in Familiar Places
Embracing the journey when I don’t know where I’m going
It doesn’t matter that I’ve reviewed the directions at least two, maybe three times. It doesn’t matter that I’ve loaded the address into my phone’s mapping system. When I ease the car into drive and start out on my journey, I feel a familiar sense of apprehension.
When I head out to a new place, I set out boldly but anxiously.
I am directionally challenged.
Please, don’t tell me to head east or north. And, please, don’t tell me street names. It won’t help. Even with the map app running on my phone and Siri’s voice telling me where and when to turn, there’s a good chance I’ll miss the street on which I’m supposed to turn.
I’ll pass it, reading the street sign as I do, groan inwardly and begin looking for a place to turn around.
And if I don’t miss my turn, I’ll spend most of my driving time asking myself, is this it? Is this the street? I’ll glance at the map as it keeps up with my car, me the green-moving arrow, searching for the place I’m looking for. I’ll study the streets that come before the one on which I’m supposed to turn; study them as much as I can in a glance.
Life can feel like that.
