Zigging and Zagging

Bill and I are walkers. We have a half-dozen walking routes of varied lengths that we take depending on time and energy. One of our favorites is down by the beach but we need at least an hour for that one with a short drive to get there. The route we took today is about 40 minutes. It has a view of the sound, some hills, curves and crossing one mildly busy street. On one part we go up and down a couple of hills. There are no sidewalks on these side streets. I am always zigging and zagging across the street so I can keep the on coming cars, if there are any, in sight and get out the way if need be.  I don’t want to be on the wrong side of a hill where the driver doesn’t see me and I don’t see the driver.  I learned that when I was 16 and in Drivers Ed in High School.  In fact I learned a lot of things about driving and road safety in that class that lasted half a year and with an instructor who drilled every thing into our heads.  Now, Bill didn’t have Drivers Ed in High School.  He went to a small prep school and had to take private Drivers Training.  Let’s just say our Drivers Ed experiences were not on the same level.   I drive Bill crazy sometimes with my zigging and zagging across the streets, along with my back seat driving at times. I am also the family Safety Marshall. Not only do I zig and zag, I check my mirrors when I get in the car, and always check my blind spots when changing lanes. I also check for fire hazards in the house, move books and other flammable matter away from heaters, make sure the stove is off, double-check to make sure doors are locked at night, never leave the house without wallet or phone. You get the picture.

When we first were married we lived in my hometown.  Bill was able to find a job with the taxicab company driving a Dial-A-Ride bus for senior citizens.  He loved that job and those folks loved him too.  He got to hear lots of stories from their long lives.  One lady was booked on the Titanic with her Mother and the rest of her siblings.  The Father of this family was in America waiting for them to come.  He had a strong impression to cancel their booking and rebook them for the next ship rather than the Titanic.  Well we all know what happened and can only marvel at the message he received which saved his family from trauma and tragedy.  Well, on one of Bill’s days driving he had a reporter riding with him for part of the day.  Bill was in the paper the next day!  My favorite line of the story was quoting one of the passengers. She said, “He zigged and he zagged all over town but we had a wonderful time.” So I am not the only zigger/zagger in this family!

It’s great when we are in alignment and zig and zag at the same times. Those are smooth times and we are grateful to have some of those days. But those off times of zigging and zagging are the spice of life and what makes our life together most interesting! How boring it would be if we were exactly the same.  We need each other to keep growing in grace and love.