Driving in Circles

Yesterday I went to visit Kelly and baby Jamie in the hospital, and every time I go to CCMC I end up not being able to figure out how to catch 91 north in Hartford. It was a lesson in futility...I'd strain my eyes for highway signs, get stuck behind puffing buses, and miss turns because I couldn't see due to being behind said buses. At one point I actually found a 91 N highway sign that had literally been scratched out so that I could not tell if the once-existing arrow had pointed straight or to the right.

I found myself completely infuriated, accidentially taking a wrong turn and being stuck driving over the river to East Hartford, knowing I'd have to turn around, go back to the city, and once again find the right way home. Somehow I managed to find Route 2 and realized I was on a path into the city I'd never taken. I'm not even sure of the bridge name, but I was crossing the river back into Hartford, straight into the heart of downtown, and the view was fabulous. I'd never realized Hartford could look so pretty, particularly at sunset, and twinkling with festive lights. The few moments back over the river and into the city were almost worth all of my wandering. I found myself thinking of that word again -- perspective.

Sometimes we all get frustrated when we are moving but seem to be getting nowhere...or going in the wrong direction...or forced to take a detour. We have our destination in mind and we just want to leave where we are and get to where we are going. We have plans and schedules, darn it, and no one and nothing should attempt to deter us.

But sometimes roadblocks force us to really stop and look at our surroundings. We notice things we'd never laid eyes on before, and something like appreciation fill us. It's like being stopped dead in a traffic jam, and noticing a patch of flowers on the side of the road that you never would have seen, rushing by at 70 miles an hour. Sometimes we're asked to take a path that seems to be completely unsavory. Yet at second glance, making our measured way along a route we didn't choose, we learn to appreciate the journey and discover the treasures it holds, if only we are looking.