The other day I was driving my kids to see their aunt and uncle in a town I’m not very familiar with. A memory lapse prevented me from recalling which freeway exit to take and I wound up taking the wrong one three times. When I finally did find the right way, I wound up stopped at a light behind a car with a cracked-glass looking license frame that had writing on it.
Since it had caught my eye, I squinted at it to make out the message. The top of the frame said, “Always Late,” and the bottom said, “But worth the Wait.”
The light turned green and we found our way to a nice family dinner and trampoline jumping.
About three-and-a-half hours later, it was getting late, so I said goodbye to my kids who were having a sleepover with their cousin.
I got back on the road and . . . wait.
You know where this is heading, don’t you? Especially if you’ve read my blog before. You know, right?
Yes. About ten minutes into my drive, as I was heading back to the freeway, I wound up stopped behind that same car again.
I didn’t realize it at first, but the license plate frame once again caught my eye and after staring at it for a few seconds, I realized through the darkness that I had lived this scenario a few hours earlier.
There had to be a message, I thought. I’m not settled on “getting” the message behind this weird incident. But here’s a guess.
Punctuality has always been important to me, although since having kids it has become a bit of a struggle. (If only I could sit them in a car seat and carry them around again, I would be on time.)
Somehow though, promptness didn’t feel like the right message.
After pondering the meaning, I decided it must have been about my age. In my mid-forties, I am now pursuing a career other than that which I went to college for and find myself quite frustrated at times. I’m not making fast enough progress, especially as I juggle my love of studying the craft of writing with web design and parenting.
Sometimes I just need a reminder that being late is not always a bad thing. Enjoy the ride and when I reach my destination, the whole journey will have been worth it.
So even though I’m “late” in my career path, I do believe that eventually it will all be worth the wait.
