so my friend asked me on friday if i’d like to go to chicago (about 2 hours away) on saturday evening for dinner with a mutual friend of ours and a trip to ikea. i love that i was able to say yes and that we were able to go and have a great time together. we got a little bit lost (and she somehow doesn’t carry an atlas of the us in her car…) but we found our way without too much trouble (and only one uncomfortable run-in with a guy who washed her windshield at a stoplight) and we both marvelled at how much less stressful it was to be lost with each other instead of being lost with our husbands who would both have gotten very upset in the same situation (“you mean you only brought this map printed out from google maps without even the directions written out? this version of the map doesn’t even have the hotel on it at all!”), but as we are women and navigate more intuitionally, we realize that getting upset will not help the situation at all and just laugh and try to get to our destination as best we can. i remember a similar revelation i had on a similar trip to chicago years ago with another girlfriend of mine when we realized how much more relaxed we were when we didn’t feel obligated to drive through chicago as fast as we could and in the far left lane. i don’t like driving right next to the barrier wall and i don’t like worrying that i’ll have to cross 4 lanes of traffic to get to my exit.
so we had a great evening! the hotel was a little farther away from ikea than i’d anticipated so… we didn’t get back home until 3 a.m., but we did get home safely and i allowed myself to sleep in until 9:30 (lately, i’ve been getting up at 6ish to do crafty stuff.), so i almost made up my sleep deprivation.
there is something fun, though, about taking a road trip and not planning the nitty gritty of it. it allows for more serendipity and really, that’s what sparks the joy of life!
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