Where Am I?

Walking is exercise I enjoy the most. I try to walk for an hour every day. I walk anywhere, in any weather condition. I prefer walking outside looking at all the sights, homes, lawns, gardens, flowers, people. I will walk indoors on a treadmill only when desperate because it's boring. I have a NJ friend who walks too, and when I am in NJ, we walk together as much as schedules will allow. We are like postmen, "Neither rain, nor sleet ...

Last Friday my friend, Linda, left town for the week-end so I was on my own. Laney and I made plans for the day. I was to walk from 8:15 to 9:15 am and then she would take a 9:30 aerobic class at her gym while I stayed with her boys. Laney told me to walk the route she usually runs. She said, go down to the corner and turn right, then turn left at the next corner, at the next corner turn right and then go to the end and turn left. Take that road down to the fork and turn right, go to Heritage Hills and that will be 2 miles, then come back. Got it, no problem. I did what she said all the way there and found my way.

WELL!!! Now I had to return! I got to the fork and forgot to turn left (truthfully, I didn't even think of where I was going, I just kept walking straight). After a while the sights were unfamiliar so I made a left turn. I ended up walking in a big circle. I was feeling anxious. I usually bring my cell phone along but this morning, because the battery was dead, it was recharging in my car. I tried a few more streets and they seemed just as unfamiliar and, choosing prayer over panic, I asked the Lord to direct my steps and get me back to Laney’s. It had to have been the wings of the Almighty that got me there. I was amazed when I turned on the street that I recognized as "home". Thank you, Lord.

As I approached the house, Jeremy was outside waiting with little Joe. Not a good thing, I thought. Then Laney came out with John. She seemed upset. Are you ready to leave? What time is it? 9:30! Oh, no! No aerobic class for her today. Aawwhhh. I was upset because I got lost, I was so glad to be back and I was fighting tears. I didn't want to cry in front of the grandsons who were looking at me strangely. There seemed to be a role reversal between Laney and me. I was the irresponsible, delinquent child and she was the disapproving guardian. I was also embarrassed. I do things like that (not give adequate attention to details) more often than I like to admit. I just walked and walked without giving my return route a single thought! I amaze myself at how I just don't THINK!

"I'm sorry, so sorry, you missed your class," I said. "Is there anything I can do now?", I asked. Laney said it was ok and no, she would just stay home. I left her house and went to Laurie's, who immediately noticed something was wrong. When I told her I got lost, she was so sympathetic I began to cry. I showered at Laurie's and felt a bit better. Just a short time later, Laney called to find out how I was and told me how worried she had been, and how relieved she was that I was all right. (I think I was right about the role reversal. I remember being worried almost sick about one or the other of my kids' safety and then they would show up and be perfectly fine and I would need to make an attitude adjustment which sometimes took a while.)

I would like to say that this episode is becoming a distant memory but - that's not the case. Laney's husband, Kevin, knows about the incident and he loves to tease me. Since that day, if I call the house and he answers or when I leave his house, he says "Make a left!" And Laney has said, more than once, you should blog about getting lost, Mom, it's funny!
Yeh, to her!