Road Work Ahead

(suggested background music pairing:  ....stop that!, Bob James, 1992) 

“The road of life is always under construction.”

This resonated with me today – I heard this at my weekly Weight Watcher’s meeting.  It was actually said almost as an added afterthought, as she was really talking about the fact that the program was really more of a lifetime change, not a one-time diet.  But this post isn’t about weight loss…

I LOVE driving. A few of you may know that, but I absolutely love it, and always have. And before I could drive, I loved riding.  Hello, my name is John, and I am a Road Geek. I have no idea how this came to be. Supposedly when I was a baby, my dad hung up a couple of road signs in my bedroom. Maybe it comes from the fact that my dad, and his dad, both loved driving. Maybe it comes from all the road trips we used to take driving from PA to New England to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. As long as I could remember I have always collected and studied maps. We would take a road trip, and as soon as we got home, I was always looking up our route and making mental notes.    

I don’t know anyone who enjoys driving as much as I do. Well, except for my best friend growing up and fellow blogger, who lived across the street. We always played with cars, dug up our parents' yards making roads, etc.  As soon as we got our licenses, we were fascinated with the concept that in a “short” day’s round-trip (4 hours), we could travel through four different states – PA, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. I don’t think is possible anywhere else except for the Four Corners part of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.  Three states, sure! But four? Yes, I’m totally into it!

I almost (and sometimes think I should have) studied something other than Accounting in college. I often wonder where I’d be if I chose Civil Engineering, or Cartography, or Urban Design/Regional Planning. But, I didn’t choose those roads. (And yes, the pun is of course intended.) I have a good friend from high school who actually studied Civil Engineering and I, to this day, am fascinated.  

I love driving so much that most of my metaphors in life revolve around driving. This blog, of course, is loosely themed on the concept of driving, of traveling, of coming to a fork in the road, picking a direction and going. It’s a series of metaphors that I think works well:  detours, backtracking, moving forward, getting lost, changing direction, reaching forks in the road, finding your destination, taking the fast lane or slowing down on the back roads of life, etc. But I never heard the above metaphor until today. And of course, it instantly made sense to me. 

There are only three driving situations that I do not like:  driving in a blinding snowstorm, driving in a blinding rainstorm, or sitting at a dead stop in traffic. Otherwise, I have no issue with anything else: traffic in general, detours, delays, or construction.  A lot of people have a much longer list than that, and a lot of people take driving merely as getting from Point A to Point B. For me, driving and life are just the opposite. I’m not ever interested in finding the fastest way from Point A to Point B. Yes, at times, I’m tied to a schedule and speed is important. Again, those who know me know I rarely take the same way to somewhere twice in a row. 

But life, and driving, can be about so much more than that. Exploring, seeing what is out there, taking in the scenery, is all there if you look for it. And yes, at times there will be construction. Sometimes the road is too rough, or too dangerous, or to crowded. Sometimes we can fix what is there; sometimes a new road needs to be built. But at the end of the day, construction is necessary to make the road a little easier to travel.

“The road of life is always under construction.” 

I wouldn’t have it any other way.