Map It Out

Puff and I love maps. So much so, that we have an antique one framed above our mantle. And whenever we get around to moving and I get the gallery wall in my dreams, there may be one of these in our future.

 

 

 

Why am I telling you this? Because I want to let you in on a little secret....

 

I HATE GPS!!!!

 

As in, I hate it so much I have never used it. I am a map girl. I like to have printed directions, have looked at a map. I have a sense of direction and I want to use it. I can't relinquish all control to a machine. I want to have something hard and tangible in my hands if something goes wrong that I can read and get us to an alternate route.

 

When I was in middle school, I was on a family road trip and we found ourselves turned around trying to find our hotel in Washington DC. My grandfather was driving and there was a car following us in our caravan. We kept making wrong turn after wrong turn. I had the map in my lap and kept insisting which way we needed to go. When we finally got to our destination, over an hour later, it was the same route I would have taken us had they just listened. I will never forget what my grandpa told me... "Girls can't read maps."

 

I know he was frustrated. And in his defense, my grandma and her 4 daughters all lack any sense of direction. I can't fault him. But I knew I was right. I knew I was reading the map correctly. It has (thankfully) been a natural skill I have acquired and one I desperately hope has passed along to Bimmer.

 

When I give someone directions to my house, they are always insanely specific.

 

Take exit 72.

Turn right at the light.

Go to the third traffic light and turn left on to XYZ street. There is a Walgreens and a fire station on the corner.

Go to the second traffic light and turn right on to ABC street. If you go to the bank, you've gone too far.

Our house is the 14th house on the right with a big pine tree in the front yard and an aqua front door.

 

When the person gets there, I ask how my directions were. They *always* look at me and say, "Oh, the GPS got me here, but it was right on what you had told me."

 

::insert banging head against the wall::