GPS

When Andy and I travel, I love the GPS.  I enjoy the false sense of security it gives – where to turn, how fast to go and exactly when I will be there.  Andy, on the other hand, has to look up the route before we travel it (even when using the GPS).  Although he acknowledges the benefits of our faithful Garmin, he also jumps at the opportunity to yell or argue with it when things don’t go as planned.  And, somewhere in the middle, is the best way to travel. 

I’m in Iowa this week – sans Garmin – in uncharted territory.  I’m anxiously and impatiently waiting on my niece or nephew to arrive.  I expected to cook dinners for my sister’s new family.  To see a belly full of life and laugh while we guess what the baby’s, well, everything will look like!  But, as we all prepare to take on roles never assumed before – Aunt, Mom, Grandma, Dad – we move forward with a nerve-racking mixture of complete confidence and utter vulnerability that I wasn’t expecting.

And, right in the middle of these new feelings, there is the opportunity to reflect on the type of people we want to be for this new life.  We can find that happy medium between arguing with the unexpected and planning for it.  We can learn from our vulnerability, reign in our confidence, and move forward.  Though there is no ETA for the arrival of this new life, somehow I think this little being will be here at the exact moment we are ready.

Signs of fresh beginnings everywhere!