Drive to Nowhere

My turn to pick up the kids after a soccer game and make sure they get home safely. After work, I hop in the car and start out. I know traffic will be slow since there is construction on 490, the main road through Rochester. I know it will be OK going *into* the city, just slow going out the other side. I hope it won't take too long because I want to see as much of the second half of the game as I can. They started at 4:15, so I know I will miss most of it. I could take the southern route - 390 to 590 to 490 on the other side of the city past the construction slowdowns, but I know that will take at least 15 more minutes, take me 12 miles out of the way, and consume more gas. So I opt for slow traffic.

I get to the school, and there is no one there. The game appears to be over. Granted, it is nearly 6. I am not sure if Drew and Zach actually caught a ride with someone else or not. I swallow my disappointment at not seeing the game, and grab my cell phone, hoping Drew has his on him.

There is a message. Funny, I had the phone on me all afternoon and never heard it ring. It is Drew. He says he has asked Zach to dinner. Yikes! I have a rule that Drew can't have anyone over if I am not there. I start to drive home, then realize the number Drew called from was not his, but another parents cell.

I call her. She is puzzled as to why I am calling. The game was cancelled because no referee showed up. The boys are home. I explain that I am in the school parking lot. She apologizes that she didn't listen more closely to what message Drew left me. Its OK. I pull out of the lot and turn on to 490 - going the wrong direction. Rats! Now I am wasting even more time to no purpose.

I decide I will look for something to compensate. Don't waste time. Its one of life's most precious and totally irreplaceable commodities. I can will not to get upset. That's the easy part. I look for something beautiful to enjoy in the scenery, but its mostly just ugly around me - no blazing sunsets or fall foliage or flowery bushes. Just concrete and blacktop and black clouds in the sky.

I turn on the radio looking for symphonic music to encourage my soul. All talkshows and news. Bah! I focus on driving, willing the time to pass quickly so I can be home. Why am I doing this? I take a deep breath. Exhale. Am I so goal oriented that I cannot release myself from the tyranny of the task to just live? There are better ways to spend an hour, that's for sure.

Well, my motives were right, and its water under the bridge now. But it makes me stop and think about how much time I spend driving nowhere, going around in circles to no end, burning up precious minutes on nothing while the important things go undone. I look back over the week, and realize that there are several cards of encouragement I have not yet sent, some CDs to mail to cancer patients who need uplifting that I haven't even addressed or packaged yet, a call to make to a friend whose marriage is on the rocks, an email to send to board members of Jairus House to pose a question I must answer, a form to mail to the lawyer. . .the list seems endless.

But having spent time in the car reflecting on things, I realize they will all get done. Not at the speed I would like perhaps, but without driving myself nuts over it. Maybe what I really needed this afternoon was a drive to nowhere so I could sit still long enough to gain some perspective. Yes, life is short, but you can't run pell mell through every minute and remain sane. So once in awhile, choose to take a drive just to drive. Or if you prefer, a walk just to walk. Or sit down just to sit. You will be amazed at the improvement in your priority perceptions!