Long Way Home

As I grew up, one of my favorite things was go for long drives in my father’s car. While my brother and I were still small, it was four of us: My parents in the front seats and my brother and I in the back. I was always behind my father in the driver’s side. Even though I was getting the second hand smoke from my Dad’s chain smoking that drifted to the back seat, it was my happy place. As we grew older into teen age, my brother wouldn’t go with us, and I would take the passenger seat and control the car stereo.

We would spontaneously hop in the car and drive out to the country sides to some favorite restaurants just for the sake of culinary pleasures. Then we would take the long way back home often through some mountain roads to see the foliage in the fall or different blossoms in the spring. We used to know those roads so well that we hardly needed maps. Once I got my driver’s license, my father would let me drive taking the long way home.

These days we depend on our GPS when we drive anywhere. Especially when I am traveling out of the local area, I can’t even imagine not having the GPS. And I think it’s interesting that GPS seems to mostly suggest the fastest route although some systems would let you set some filters.

I spent the last several days up in the Bay Area for business where I needed to do a bit of driving around. One day I set up my map as I was coming back from Redwood City to Vallejo where I was staying. I defied the first two suggestions for faster routes and took the longest way back that took me through the Golden Gate Bridge up through San Rafael and back around San Pablo Bay. It was dusk, and the light was changing rapidly. As I reached Highway 37 along the bay, I couldn’t help but to pull over to take in the breathtaking scenery.

In a way, this is how I’ve traversed my life. I didn’t follow a typical trajectory academically or professionally. I admit every once in a while I wish I knew what I wanted to do with my life earlier on and followed a plan accordingly like some people do. But then, I don’t have regret about the meandering paths I’ve taken as I feel like that’s how rich my life has turned out to be. All the twists and turns like those mountain roads I used to drive with my father led me to where I am today, and I’m blessed with such cornucopia of interesting experiences and people in my life. And I feel like I’m still meandering through life as my curiosity leads my way.