Backseat - From Where I Sit

April 2004

By: Michelle

The Long and Short of It

It was the end of yet another long work day in downtown DC. I was on the Metro (subway) heading home, trying to distract myself from the pain of a man’s book bag that was jabbing my in the back by reading all the advertisements posted on the walls inside the train. One in particular caught my eye “Live Happily Ever – Now”. At first blush, I thought it was a clever advertisement but the more I thought about it the more I decided to take offense. In fact, by the time I was ready to exit the train, I had all but decided that slogan was a prime example of what is wrong with America today.

Not to sound like an old fogey, but what about the details? Aren’t they worth the wait? Don’t we miss out on the ride when we take the interstate instead of the back road? Though practical when necessity dictates, nobody wants to hear about a ride that starts “we got on the bike and arrived at our destination.” Unless it’s a bona fide race, nobody cares. However, if you mention the smell of the fresh mown grass, the lazy winding river that ran along the roadside or described the shadows that danced along the gently rolling hills, people will tend to listen. It’s more than just a beginning and an end – there’s a middle, too, and that’s where the good stuff really lies.

Shortcuts are tricky things. This past week I had two vivid reminders of this fact. My daughter moved away from home for the first time. This was an example of something that felt like a short-cut but was actually 22 years in the making. On a smaller scale, I went to the dentist for a crown. In this case I was begging for a shortcut. In fact, if the dentist could have come up with one, I would retract every word in this article. Of course, being the elusive creature that it is, no short-cut could be found when it was sorely needed.

Of course all bets are off if you are trying to explain any of this “stop and smell the roses” mentality to anyone between the ages of 13 – 19. (Talk about the perfect years for a shortcut.) However, kids weren’t designed to go from 12 directly to 20 years old, proving my theory that though not always a bad thing, shortcuts aren’t natural. I have tried to explain this philosophy to my 15 year old son in great detail. To which he responds with a short-cut version of a reply – a generic grunt. I am offering him my book of knowledge of life and he just wants to see the movie version.

I am all for saving time. Who doesn’t prefer an easier way to do things? We live in a world where we have to constantly worry about being outmaneuvered by somebody who is faster than we are. We begin to feel that if we don’t take the shortcut we may lose out. Under conditions like these it’s hard to remember that shortest distance between two points isn’t always the best route. It’s also hard to stay focused and enjoy the ride. We shorten words, we skip to the last page in books, we take pills promising weight loss rather than exercising, we skim the channels on the television, we are so busy looking for the short-cut we miss the ride.

I am determined that won’t happen to me. So on every ride I make careful mental note of every vehicle we pass, the color of the sky, the scents on the breeze, the curves on the road. After a few miles of this, my mind begins to wander as I start to contemplate deeper things in life and I begin to wonder if we keep taking shortcuts, will we ever be able to complete a single senten… and then we arrived at our destination.

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