Barbie's Bunkhouse: Being the driver or the co-pilot?

Over the years I have always been the co-pilot (Hubby of course, the pilot) and I'm fine with it! I'm a great map reader, navigator, landmark watcher. Of course there are times when things don't go as planned but hey, it's an adventure!

Like yesterday, for example, we left in the morning with our son to visit Hoftra University out on Long Island. I didn't need to be alert until we got closer to the city, but hubby had the GPS so we were fine (I worked on my laptop until the battery died about 4 hrs later). Traffic was CRAZY! Honestly, I was glad I wasn't behind the wheel. Hubby travels alot for business so he made effortlessly smooth transitions in the congested lanes and I was VERY proud of him! (He didn't blow the horn or shout an obsenity!) As we viewed the lines of cars basically grid-locked in the opposite direction (a.k.a. our way home) we decided that we would find an alternate route and bypass all of the mess. I put on my co-pilot cap and we ended up at the admissions office ahead of schedule.

Beautiful campus. 60 degree weather, clear skies and flowers in blume everywhere! I have never scene orange tulips before and they were gorgeous. Our awesome tour guide Alex (which I'm thinking could be another profession for me should writing not pan out! LOL) said the university plants 1 tulip for every incoming freshman each year! How cool is that! We had a great afternoon. It's a wonderful campus. No. 1 son was very excited on the way home. Yes...remember home? How we were going to find an alternate route??? Our lovely admissions rep gave us quick verbal directions on how to avoid the traffic on the George Washington Bridge. Perfect! (not really)

Hubby's GPS is about 4 yrs old. It doesn't notify you of traffic delays and every once in a while it "hiccups" and sends you in the wrong direction. But usually he's in familiar territory and knows enough that it's wrong and he corrects it himself. Apparently that was MY job. Well, we are in rush hour traffic right on the main drag of the university. GPS is sending us the same way we came, Hubby is telling me to look for signs, and I'm trying to pull up the APP on my phone so I can see about finding an alternate route or how the hell I can find the other bridge we're supposed to cross! Oh yeah...No. 1 son is calmly being the mediator from the backseat so HE doesn't have to drive home because Mom and Dad have strangled each other! Seems comical now, but at the time....not so much.

GPS is shut off, so hubby relies only on me, the co-pilot. No problem, I've got this. I keep switching from navigation mode, to direction mode so I can see what's coming. We see signs for the Throg's Neck Bridge (the one the admissions girl said to take) and we now have hope that our current location was just enough to trick the gps into sending us a different way! Hubby visibly relaxes behind the wheel and I give myself a mental pat on the back for being the "A #1 co-pilot" yet again! I am awesome!! No. 1 son, goes back to his music. All is wonderful, traffic is heavy but moving. We should be home by 9pm, not too bad.

Enter Big Black Moment.

Hubby: which way am I going?
Co-Pilot: I don't know, this way I think.
Hubby: What do you mean you don't know? You have the nav. C'mon I need to know.

Panic sets in as we are at least going 60mph in traffic. I scan the nav, then look at the signs. Nav says 80 west. But the sign says New Haven. (hmm...as in CT? didn't the admissions girl say she missed her turn once and ended up in CT? is this what she meant or should we go that way?)

Co-Pilot: Stay in this lane. 80 west.

Before long we see signs for the G.W. Bridge and we are now in horriffic traffic! Yup, you guessed it, we should have taken the other way. the nav is taking us the same way we came! Hubby is NOT happy as you can now factor hunger into the equation. I, of course, try to find the humor in it. And am reminded our mine and hubby's first trip together to NYC before we were married. He decided to give up smoking on that trip, AND while being co-pilot we missed an exit! Ahh...memories!!! No. 1 son and I laughed. Hubby did not.

Well, we missed one more exit on this trip (I think my poor co-piloting skills were due to low blood sugar), we grabbed some dinner on the fly and ended up taking a scenic tour of NJ in order to get back on route through PA and back to NY. The co-pilot became the pilot for the last 2 hours of our trip, arriving back home over an hour behind schedule. Another fun adventure, and I enjoyed the one on one time with No. 1 son. A very long day, but a very successful trip.

A funny story, but it got me thinking. There are times in our writing careers where we start out as the co-pilot. We need others for support (critique groups) and we support them as well. We don't quite have that confidence to get behind the wheel. We make mistakes, and we learn and we build or confidence and before we know it we are taking charge. We are the pilot! We don't have to fly solo, even though many say that writing is a solo career, we can keep our support system but we understand that we are the  pilots of our own writing destiny.

For those who feel you might still be sitting comfortably in the co-pilot chair....hang on, your chance to fly is coming!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!