Paths

We were headed to Sausalito. We didn't know exactly what to expect, but had heard there were cute little shops and great views of the Bay. So we set the Garmin destination to "Sausalito, California" and started driving.

After many twists and turns, we arrived at our destination:

This is when we realized that we had arrived at the dead center of Sausalito, California. Lovely. I was grateful to snap a couple photos of this interesting Linux cart ("LIVE FREE OR DIE!") and laugh at our error. We turned around and thought more carefully about what path we ought to take. Within minutes, we were soaking up the sunshine and ocean(ish) air.

It was a good moment to pause and reflect on what direction my life is headed: do I just try to head in the general direction of where I want my life to go? Or do I pause to think about exactly what lies ahead, what obstacles I will have to overcome on the road and what my goals are?

I think we both know the answer to this already.

When all was said and done, I bought some beautiful new scarves from an adorable little boutique and coveted the chocolate t-shirts at a different store. I walked past a darling little candy store and bought some flavors of taffy to take home to my boys. It looked identical to the stuff I bought in Salt Lake City, but thought I better not mention this to my husband, who would probably frown on the purchase if he realized I was buying it more for the "Look what Mommy brought home from her trip!!" angle than the "I couldn't buy this anywhere else" angle. 

This was when my friend asked, "Where do you get all these flavors of taffy from?" and the owner replied, "It's made in Salt Lake City." I'm fairly sure I winced and tried not to notice my husband's upraised eyebrows.

That evening, when we finally made it home after a day in Sausalito and Muir Woods, I collapsed in exhaustion in our hotel room, sick of being on the road. I looked forward anxiously to meeting up with a friend at Pixar, where we were going to see a movie. Fun! I looked into my purse for my hotel key and realized my wallet was complete AWOL. I searched frantically and we realized it really was gone.

This is the part of the story titled, "Where have you been?"

I thought back over my purchases for the day and started googling the little stores I had shopped at. I felt lost. Helpless. Hopeless. Then I remembered with clarity that I had last used my wallet at a cute little Indian restaurant for lunch. We found the phone number and the owner immediately said with relief, "Yes! I have it for you here! I tried to run after you to give it to you, but you were already gone." In the pandemonium, the Pixar plans got off track and we ended up instead making a 10-minute stop and then driving back to Sausalito in thick fog and gathering darkness. 

Sometimes you know where you want to be, but you have to turn around and go a different direction anyway. It makes you sick. Nauseous. Even a tad angry. What can you do? Only accept. Life is crazy. Sometimes you end up in the wrong place because you didn't plan. Sometimes you end up in the right place because you worked hard to get there. Sometimes you end up in the right place through some crazy piece of cosmic fortune. And sometimes, every once in a while, you end up in a tiny Indian restaurant in Sausalito because your wallet fell out of your purse onto the floor.

And sometimes you end up in the bus lane of the Bay Bridge with your wife crying tears of frustration. But that is another story for another day.