Life In The Fast Lane

I can't tell you how many times I've driven down the busy road one block over. The one I take home from work every day. The one I use to access the storage place, drive to the Oxbow Zoo, visit the girls from work. The one I use to get pretty much anywhere.

Built somewhere between fifteen and thirty years ago, most of these houses were once located on a quiet street instead of a busy thruway. Now I and a host of other drivers scurry by with barely a glance. Okay, that's not quite true. I love to look at houses. I always have, I always will. I like all kinds: Ranches, Split-Levels, Colonials, Shirtwaists, Capes (and cods). Really, all of them. Not all of them suit me as a homeowner, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate their unique aspects. And anywhere I drive I like to see what houses there are, what kind of condition they're in, the neighborhood aspects and all that malarkey. Yeah, I know, I considered Real Estate but I have a tendency to like a steady paycheck. Anyhoo, I have glanced at these houses along the busy way and noted them quickly in the back of my mind.

Then today became one of those days where a few things didn't work out, then a couple of things didn't go my way, and by the time the evening rolled around I was having a full-blown, terrible, awful, horrible, no good, very bad day. (You are so my kind of person if you get this literary rip-off, I mean reference.) Hell, the dog needed a walk anyway and I needed some new scenery. I was rather surprised it had never occurred to me to walk down this road. After all, it's one of the few in the neighborhood with sidewalks on both sides of the street. But walk we did and an eye opener it was.

Mom always said 'Never judge a book by its cover'. (Which, really, is a bit of a surprise because she ALWAYS made snap judgements based on any person's physical appearance. And, let's face it, in acting and job interviews, the cover is the first impression and first impressions count.) This might be the only time when I actually thought this phrase applicable. Houses I thought small and noisy gave me pause. One house, set back quite a bit from the road was so impeccable it could have graced the cover of any home magazine. Even the lawn had a perfectly mowed diagonal design. No back and forth here, lemme tell ya. Two houses down, the one I thought terribly overgrown at the front of its property turned out to be not so much jungle-esque as bordered by very mature lilac trees. I had to stop and smell. And smell again. Every single bloom that had just come out and tickled my nose with one of the most enjoyable smells ever put on the face of this earth. And that yellow house on the corner that always seemed a bit cluttered and shabby ("It could be so cute with a little bit of work") became seriously charming and cottagey upon slower inspection.

It's still that way with life, isn't it? We speed by in familiar territory, convinced that we see the sights exactly as they are. But when forced to slow down and really observe, all sorts of pleasant little surprises can be found. Surprises that can feed our imaginations and observations, that support our senses and broaden our horizons. I like it much better knowing that there's a beautiful row of lilacs and a charming country cottage just down the road instead of period houses with small backyards. Where some homes are still havens and meant to be the source of our every days and very souls.

I don't think I'll walk the road all that often. I don't want to take it for granted. I think I'll save it for the days when the toddler's extra cranky, the cat puked on my clean rug and the toilet overflowed twice. That's the best time for taking the busy road slowly.