Going in the Wrong Direction

On the journey of life, when confronted with something unexpected, you can either go with the flow or fight the process of life. One night five years ago, I was offered one of those moments and I chose to go with the flow. I had decided to take my kids to Massachusetts and to the Vermont border to see the fall colors, go apple picking and just see where the day took us. Total drive time should have been two and a half hours each direction. At 6:00 in the evening I got on Interstate 91 to head home. I love to take long drives, so I did not seem to notice that this drive was taking longer than usual. Never mind that I also did not seem to notice (thanks to the distraction of my kids begging me to start the DVD player) that when I was getting onto the interstate, I was heading north instead of south! Thankfully I had grabbed a coffee before I got onto the highway, because it turned out that I would REALLY need it! You can see where this is heading....... Canada! Yep, several hours later, when I finally took notice that something was wrong, I was at the Canadian border. Imagine the look on the Canadian border patrolman's face when I explained why I did not have passports and could I please flip a U in Canada. As I was at the border, I suddenly remembered a dream I had three nights earlier. In the dream, I had headed out for a two hour drive, fallen asleep while driving and ended up five hours from home! In the dream, I had arrived at an amusement park. I remembered marking it on my navigation in the dream to remember that even when you are lost, you can find places you would have never discovered. So back at the border, I laughed to myself as the dream flashed across my mind. The kids were laughing too, hysterically. They loved it! They did not seem to mind the fact that we would have a five hour drive home. They just loved that we ended up in Canada by mistake. They proceeded to tell the Canadian and U.S. border patrol the story. They also recounted the story over the next hour to the cashier at the mini-mart and the waitress at the restaurant. We all bonded over a crazy turn of events! The day taught my children the value of going with the flow. If I had reacted with anger, impatience, frustration or worry, they would have gotten an entirely different message from what happened. Instead, they learned that it is alright to make mistakes and that in fact, a mistake can turn into the biggest adventure. I learned to trust that often dreams give us foreshadowing sometimes and to pay attention to the messages. One thing is clear... The dream was not to warn me, but to remind me that sometimes the biggest treasures in life come from going in the wrong direction because things always happen for a reason. Now five years later, my children do not remember the semi boring day trip to go apple picking and bowling.......they still remember how that day turned into a U turn in Canada, an unexpected night in a hotel in Vermont and ice cream cones after breakfast. I hope they remember that life is an adventure and to always enjoy the ride!