Every night I make a “to-do” list for the next morning. I love crossing things off my list. In fact, I often add things I’ve already done to my list just so I can cross them off. The down side of this is that I am often so busy scurrying around to finish off my list that I forget to enjoy the day.
Every night I make a “to-do” list for the next morning. I love crossing things off my list. In fact, I often add things I’ve already done to my list just so I can cross them off. The down side of this is that I am often so busy scurrying around to finish off my list that I forget to enjoy the day.
Last week I encountered a detour on my way home from work — a semi truck had rolled over on the highway. Fortunately, no one was injured. The policeman on the scene directed me to turn south on a side road. I drove south about four miles until I came to a T in the road where I turned back to the east, my original direction. I drove east a couple of miles and came to a major country road going north so I turned to the north hoping to get back to the highway. Apparently I had driven in a triangle and came out on the highway within sight of where I’d first been directed to turn south. The policeman stationed at that corner directed me to just cross the highway to continue my unofficial detour to the north this time. He told me they’d set up traffic cones but someone stole them so I should just drive north until I get to a county road and then turn east again.
 | After randomly driving around on the south side of the highway, I was now on a tour of the countryside north of the highway. At first I was mildly irritated at the disorganized detour, the delay and the extra gas I was burning but as I drove I was struck by the beauty of the back roads. After I’d passed this little country church I had to stop, turn around, and park in the lot for a few minutes just to enjoy the view. |
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 I don’t often slow down unless something forces me to do so but I know that sometimes an unwelcomed detour — whether on the road, via the telephone, at the front door or just a glitch in my carefully scheduled to-do list — is there because I need to hit the pause button a few minutes and just enjoy the gift of life, loved ones and health in a beautiful world. |  |
