A foggy mist kept me upright and alert last night. It was 2am and I was in the final hour of the 375 mile trip home from Chicago. The unlit, poorly marked two-lane road and good sense demanded that I stay safely under the 55 mph speed limit. Suddenly, a pair of headlights appeared in my rear-view mirror, and in mere seconds the vehicle was impatiently tailgating me.
I'm not going to be pressured into speeding up, I told myself. I knew this winding road very well; I knew the slippery low spots, the places where deer were most likely to cross, rough patches and the uneven shoulder. I recalled the deer I had hit on this road, and the horrible seventeen car pile up I had been a part of 23 years before. Nobody else's impatience was going to make me increase my speed beyond what I knew to be safe for the conditions.
The other driver could stand it no longer. Racing his engine and whipping around me, he sped away...for about fifty yards. Without my red taillights to follow, he hit his brakes. I chuckled at what had obviously happened; all of a sudden things didn't seem so clear anymore.
The final miles of my trip were filled with prayers of thanks for my kids. I have kids who are wise and humble enough to follow their parents' lead. Although our decisions don't always make obvious sense to them, they usually are able to appreciate the fact that we have traveled this road for a while. They know that their day will come when they take the lead in their own families.
That's when they'll see how things look from the front.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
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