The Open Road

"The beauty of an open road is that it leads you in ways you'd never expect. Stay on the pavement, but also remember to put the top down and crank up the tunes!" My friend Montyne left that comment on yesterday's blog and I just can't get it out of my mind. It captures exactly what I'm feeling.
In "Gifts from the Sea", Anne Morrow Lindbergh journals about the different stages of life. I try to read this book every summer as the decades-old wisdom is always fresh. We are reading it this summer for our book club. (Anyone is welcome to join us at my house next Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 7 pm). Ms. Lindbergh writes about coming to the stage of life where you realize some of the dreams of youth aren't going to come true. How we react with sadness and regret in our culture, instead of celebrating a greater knowledge of ourselves and the freedom attached to realigning our perceptions and priorities.
When Lizzy turned 18 I celebrated the fact that I would never have a kid in juvy. May sound strange, but if we can't look at where we've come and what we've accomplished, we can't put the present or future in proper perspective.
Montyne's comment is for those of us that have some years and experience on us. We know the open road is challenge enough and not being able to see around the curves is life. We've learned getting off the paved road is costly. We know putting the top down is worth wind-blown hair, cause perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be. And if the radio is loud enough you can't think too much.
I have such wise friends!