Detours (Sheryl Crow)

     I have driven on these bumpy and worn roads for years.  I have memorized the potholes and the proper angles needed to dodge them.  I swerve when new ones sneak up on me...but there's always a new one waiting silently to catch me when my guard is down. 
       Lately it seems as if every single road is under construction.  There are bridges missing and blocked.  There is damage from the storms.  There are worn roads finally being dealt with because the season and temperatures allow the repairs.  To say construction is everywhere is an understatement.  In any given trip from here to my job...or the store...or to pick up the kids from school...it seems as if there is something somewhere.  Men with "slow" or "stop" signs are as common in the scenery as mountains, trees and clouds in these parts.  Have I mentioned that they are everywhere?  
     Today as I passed the detour for the road that was out and squeezed through the cones to get past the men working on power lines only to come to a blinking light where a bridge is now gone...it hit me.  All of the metaphors I have developed to make sense of it all for all of those around me and I was missing the biggest one yet.  My world is under construction.  For years it was neglected.  The roads were bumpy and full of hazards.  I was dodging holes and hoping to make it safely on my journeys from here to there.  Now, the roads are detours.  The bridges are being torn down to build new ones.  Traffic lights are being added.  Bumpy and worn messes are being replaced by smooth and friendly alternatives.  They will be safer...kinder...simpler.  Instead of memorizing holes and maneuvering around trouble I will now have the time to take in the scenery and enjoy the ride that I am on.  Someday it will be a smooth ride. 
     But at this moment it is annoying.  I have to plan for extra time for travel.  I have to be patient.  I have to find new routes when the known are closed off.   I have to accept that roads are closed and alternate patterns need to be found.  It is tedious.  It is tricky.  It is tiring.  BUT...but...but... eventually the roads will be all done.  The bridges will be new.  The streets will be smooth like glass.  It's just a matter of hard work, time and a few signs that remind me to take it "slow" when necessary and to "stop" if it's for my own good.  I will hang in there for now but boy am I looking forward to those beautiful, smooth roads that take me to where I am going.