Potholes
As I was leaving Target the other day it happened. My car was swallowed by a pothole. OK, not literally swallowed, but the thud and shaking had me convinced that I must have inadvertantly driven over the curb. (Having driven over a few curbs in my time, it wasn't that hard to believe.) Later, driving back in the other direction I realized that where the street and parking lot met there was a pothole large enough to lose a small dog in. Ah well, 'tis the season.
There is another stretch of road in town that has become infamous for its potholes. Althought pot trenches would be the more accurate term for something stretching most of the width of a four lane road. Oh, the city posted signs "Rough Road Ahead - 20 MPH". They painted them orange to help people see them better. But the potholes were still there. Every time I drove that road I knew they were coming, not to be avoided. And every time they left me jarred, and hoping that my car was still intact.
We all have potholes. Areas of our lives that we know are a problem, things that we know in advance will shake us up and make us wonder how we'll keep it all together. Our jobs, the days our kids act like crazed monkeys that have had a pound of sugar and a gallon of Coke dumped down their throat, the visit from 'THAT' certain relative, the meeting with our child's teacher when we know things haven't been going well. Or maybe it is something more personal.
Sometimes my feelings of inadequacy are a pothole. New venture = feeling inadequate. It just is the way I'm wired. I could try to ignore that, and I could go flying over the potholes but I'm going to bottom out and then limp away thinking "Well, I'll never drive THAT road again." Or I could look at the signs and say "You know what? I know what's coming. I know its going to shake me up, but I really want to see what's at the end of the road." So I slow down. I'm not surprised when I hit the pothole, I knew it was there. But I know that once I'm over it there will be smooth stretches of road ahead.
There is another stretch of road in town that has become infamous for its potholes. Althought pot trenches would be the more accurate term for something stretching most of the width of a four lane road. Oh, the city posted signs "Rough Road Ahead - 20 MPH". They painted them orange to help people see them better. But the potholes were still there. Every time I drove that road I knew they were coming, not to be avoided. And every time they left me jarred, and hoping that my car was still intact.
We all have potholes. Areas of our lives that we know are a problem, things that we know in advance will shake us up and make us wonder how we'll keep it all together. Our jobs, the days our kids act like crazed monkeys that have had a pound of sugar and a gallon of Coke dumped down their throat, the visit from 'THAT' certain relative, the meeting with our child's teacher when we know things haven't been going well. Or maybe it is something more personal.
Sometimes my feelings of inadequacy are a pothole. New venture = feeling inadequate. It just is the way I'm wired. I could try to ignore that, and I could go flying over the potholes but I'm going to bottom out and then limp away thinking "Well, I'll never drive THAT road again." Or I could look at the signs and say "You know what? I know what's coming. I know its going to shake me up, but I really want to see what's at the end of the road." So I slow down. I'm not surprised when I hit the pothole, I knew it was there. But I know that once I'm over it there will be smooth stretches of road ahead.
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