From My Perspective: A Turn in the Road

As spring has finally made an appearance and the snow begins to melt, the roads we drove all winter are starting to become dryer and more wide open.

Open roads make me want to get out, drive, see and do things. In the winter, especially if you drive Flesher pass, the snow is built up all around you. It's difficult to see out the window to the expanse the Blackfoot Valley has to offer. I feel so closed in, claustrophobic and trapped. It's when I can see for long distances from the road to the flat land, the river or mountains and the biggest blue sky that I feel the most alive. It's also when I can take the turn in the road without white-knuckling it over the icy conditions.

Turns in the road don't have to actually be about a road though. It can be about your attitude. It can be about the weather. It can be about a different direction in your life - or the life of those around you. It can mean moving or staying in the same place, taking off on new adventures, or creating some of them right where you are.

The road is one of my many metaphors as it relates to life. There are stretches of both that are long and winding, have sharp turns, near misses and straightaways. Then there's being stuck in traffic, experiencing road construction, coming across bumpy sections of the road, or the road that feels like smooth sailing.

The way I see it, straightaways are for speeding up, driving fast, and being on autopilot.

Long and winding roads are comfortable, with the occasional bend in the road that causes you to slow down and realize autopilot is boring.

Sharp turns are those sudden jolts that force you in a new direction whether you like it or want to.

Near misses cause us to pay more attention to our surroundings. (Around here, those near misses usually involve a deer or elk.)

Being stuck in traffic is a lot like feeling stuck where you are and finding the patience to deal with it. You know it will eventually end, but there's a reason for the slow movement, and often it's a mistake that or accident that needs to be cleared up.

Road construction reminds me everything, including ourselves, needs maintenance, work and sometimes an entire overhaul. Afterwards, there's something a little different and new in the place we, or the road was.

Bumpy sections of the road are just that. They are a rough patch. Sometimes we slow down to address them, and sometimes we ignore them and speed over them until it's just too bumpy to ignore any longer.

Going fast over them just makes it worse, and once we do the slow down, avoid them or fix the bumpiness, we can move forward.

Then, for those brief moments in our life and on the road, we come to a point of smooth sailing. That place where, for that period of time, everything is just feel right - perfect even - and it's all going smoothly. It feels right, and it's where we really enjoy the ride.

Why do I think it is the shortest period or stretch of the road? Because we, as humans, are always growing. We have to take the drive, get through some things and then enjoy the drive. Nothing is free and nothing really comes easily.

Sometimes, we just need to park the car and not go anywhere. I feel like that's where I've been the last couple of months. Just parked and not sure which direction I should go. But while I was parked and off the road, I did some things for myself. I thought a lot, figured some things out, remembered the things I wanted in my life and, as spring began to arrive, I picked up my keys, got behind the wheel and started the engine. I still sat there for a bit, just idling in the driveway. There were things I learned while I was parked. There were things I decided I wanted to do, things I decided I would never do again and others I still just need a break from.

I missed writing. I missed having time to enjoy with the people I want to. I learned lessons about family and the toll my actions have had on them. I learned a little more about what I want in life, and thought about the actions I need to take - or not take - to get to where I want to go. I thought, as I pulled out of my driveway, about the road I want to be on and the turns in the road I want to take. For now, I imagine my road will be of the long and winding variety, and I'm okay with that. Long and winding roads have a way of giving me another turn in the road and time to get there.

What does a turn in the road mean for you? Does it mean taking a leap of faith and doing something you've never done before, or does it mean staying the same course. Will you take the road less traveled, or the one well worn, because it's familiar? Do you need to park your car or slow down over the bumpiness of it all?

Ultimately, that turn in the road, whether it be from winter to spring, snow-packed road to dry and easy, or a different direction you're about to take in your life, embrace it, learn and grow from it. But most of all - enjoy it