My thoughts on life

Published 7:00 am Friday, January 24, 2014

Can I tell you a story? I hope that’s a yes, because there’s something I want to share with you very much.

I have an eight-year-old niece named Taylor, whom I adore.

All of her life, Taylor has been hungry for knowledge. From the time she learned to walk, she was curious about everything she touched.

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Taylor is now at an age where she’s developing an interest in the way things work.

While she was riding in the car with me yesterday, she let out a sigh, and then said, “You make it look so easy.”

After gloating for a bit, I reply, “What are you referring to?”

She says, “Driving.”

I smile because I can see so clearly what she is thinking, but before I can respond, she goes on, “You make it look like you just get in and go, but it’s not like that. You have to back up, and press the pedals… and the buttons.”

I can tell she is perplexed as she tries to understand how cars work. To comfort her, I explain what it was like the first time I was ever behind the wheel.

Sharing with her freshens my memory of being 15 and struggling to understand cars.

Steering was the hardest part for me. For weeks, I could not understand how to keep the car in one lane (thankfully, we lived on a private road). I would veer too far left, and in attempt to straighten myself out, veer too far right.

After Taylor went home, I kept thinking about how eventually I didn’t have to worry about steering anymore. One day, I just got in the car and I knew exactly what to do.

I think this is true to life — in the parts we navigate alone, we often steer too far left or right, but eventually we will calibrate ourselves and soon know exactly what to do.

There are some things we just have to learn from experience.