Lessons from the Passenger Side

I had an 'aha' moment tonight describing to my husband a driving adventure I'd had with my son while he was driving down a main thoroughfare in our town. Up ahead was a stop light. At the stop light was a cement truck - first in line to go once the light turned green. We were at least six vehicles behind the cement truck. My son saw the light turn green and began accelerating. The other vehicles didn't accelerate as fast as he did. He approached the vehicle in front of us much too quickly for my liking. I began my famous side-driver routine: grabbing the seat handle, followed by grabbing the door handle, followed by the arched back and pretend brake being driven into the floor by my left foot.

My son did not understand my reaction. He felt I had perhaps 'overreacted'. I tried to explain to him the cement truck would accelerate slowly, so there was no point in accelerating that quickly when he was so far behind the truck in the lineup. He would end up plowing into the vehicle in front of him long before he reached the light.

I said to my husband "There's a difference betweeen looking ahead, and anticipating." And that was my 'aha' moment. I realized I had inadvertently come up with a life lesson : That driving is not the only time in one's life when one's eyes be on the horizon, anticipating and being prepared for the circumstances. There are also other spheres of life where this skill helps one avoid nasty outcomes. I am sure there are lots. I will list them, as soon as my heart rate returns to normal.