Go Around

I am a mom. I drive carpool. It’s what I do.

And so I recently hauled six middle school, basketball-playing boys to a campus far, far away, one I hadn’t been to in, oh, at least 20 years for the first game of the season.

Needless to say, I needed Mapquest.

My phone, though, was otherwise employed by my son, who was taking music requests to blast over the stereo. They ranged from rap songs I didn’t recognize to “Bohemian Rhapsody” to, weirdly, “Stacy’s Mom,” which was both amusing and a little awkward.

So Mapquest was relegated to be some sort of weird background singer, occasionally spitting out a robotic driving instruction. I dutifully followed along, except Mapquest kept egging me onward — even as I could see rushing water across a wash and blockades.

Now what?

Mapquest sent me straight back on the exact same path that would lead to a hefty fine if we needed to be rescued by the fire department.

Soulja Boy was rapping that I should just crank dat. So I did. Cranked dat minivan back around to the direction from which we came and struck out to find an alternate route without stupid Mapquest’s help.

I know what you’re thinking: Wow, that was a really boring story. I have a point, though.

So, the same thing happens in life: You hit a roadblock and you have no choice but to go around. It’s a different route, but in the end, you end up where you want to be.

I hit enough potholes with the traditional publishing world to bottom out, but I kept going. And now there’s This.

I’m glad things worked out the way they did because I got to do things my way.

Stay tuned because This. is coming…