Are we there yet?
A repeated question from childhood that often irritated parents from its repetitive use by every child within a traveling vehicle was “Are we there yet?”
When I was a child, I seldom uttered those words because I actually loved to go anywhere because I was fascinated with seeing the world around me.
I loved to see rolling green fields covered with cows gazing. Waters of the rivers flowing and churning by the rocks below. The mountains rising high around me as I tried to look back into every hollow to see if a small house sat there with a chimney shooting smoke into the sky.
When we went into the cities, I would stretch my neck trying to look up at the top of the buildings as we rolled through.
Since I spent much of my childhood as an only, long rides in cars were not much different than occupying my time anywhere around home. In those days we weren’t tied to car seats, so I could move anywhere across the back seat or floorboard of our blue Chevrolet Malibu as I played and filled the hours.
Nighttime was the only periods when I really didn’t enjoy trips because there was little to see beyond the door windows.
But there were many times as a small child, I remember curling up in the front floorboard of the Chevrolet pickup at the feet of my mother near the heat vent where I would go off to sleep and awake when we got to where we were headed.
Feeling warm and safe in that place made traveling a preferred activity when I was small.
Of course, trips for us were largely limited to our annual vacation or periodic trips on holidays to visit relatives. Oftentimes vacations included relatives too.
Today, as I crawl into the driver’s seat to head off for a trip, I do sometimes find myself thinking “Are we there yet?”
I know the answer, but the weariness associated with the act of driving, does make the traveling less appealing to me. I still enjoy seeing the places once I arrive but the monotony of looking out the windshield at the road makes the experience less of an adventure to me.
Often in life, we set goals, create a path, and then forge ahead towards that objective.
Along the way, we sometimes stop and access how close we are to reaching the goal in essence asking, “Are we there yet?”
So, the skill of asking that question, though frustrating to parents can be a blessing as we map out our lives.
Evaluating where we are, where we are going, and if we need to adjust to reach a goal is a great skill.
Finding our way in life day-to-day can be an adventure on its own, I know I am on a constant trend of re-evaluating my position.
Do you feel like you are spinning your wheels? Maybe you are not reaching anywhere close to where you thought you would be? Maybe you need to ask, “Are we there yet?”
