You Got to Know Your Destination

I consider myself fairly well traveled. I've been to several states and have flown a few times. I can pack like a pro thanks to Wallace Bates's guidelines to keep the outfits to a minimum...

But today I think I met my match.

I was privileged to be selected to be a part of the McCall Leadership Academy at KCTCS.  Each college gets a representative, and I'm honored that I get to represent my colleagues at HCTC.

Today was our first in-person meeting, in downtown Louisville. Y'all who know me well know I hate driving, and I wasn't about to brave driving downtown... so my wonderful Mom came along. 

I'm not the greatest in technology, but I figured between my phone, my Mom's garmin, and the navigation system in my car we'd be ok to make it to the hotel. We left in plenty of time and everything went great until I tried to program the Garmin.

I couldn't figure out how to change the destination.

I know... I'm obviously leader material based on that one statement.

Because isn't that what a leader does? Change the destination? Or at least get the people he or she is following to discover what the destination is?

So... I gave up on the Garmin and pulled out my cell phone.

I'm much more adept at programming it and had our destination mapped out quicker than you can turn it on.

And then it started talking to me... telling us to turn at every stinkin' exit we passed.

Well... I'm so adept at using my cell phone that I was convinced that I had somehow programmed two destinations in.  The last time I had used the map feature was when we went to see Melody in the hospital two months ago, and it must have saved that destination.

Except when I turned the voice off in the settings it kept on talking to me.

So I did the next to logical thing... turned my cell phone off... because why wouldn't it still be talking even after that feature had been turned off???

And then it kept talking.

So I got a little worried... until I realized that it was the Garmin talking.  I had left the stinking thing on and even though I had no idea where the destination it was trying to send us was, it sure knew.

We finally got to the hotel and Mom dropped me off... but I forgot my wallet in the car because I'm so responsible...

which meant that Mom had to prove her love by driving around downtown Louisville amidst the one-way streets to try to get back to point A.

I had a good day of meetings where I learned about honesty and integrity and transparency and vulnerability and taking risks and being courageous and having a vision and a purpose.

Lots of food for thought...

And I was feeling pretty good about myself because introverted Lauren managed to make small talk with the people she sat with and even ate part of a salad at lunch so that no one would think she was strange for being a picky eater.

And then I took the stairs down and almost couldn't find my way out because the doors to the first floor were an emergency exit only and the door to the second floor opened in an unfinished parking garage.

But I finally made it back out of the stairwell without calling 911, which I'm taking as a pretty good sign of my critical thinking abilities.

I love to travel, but sometimes small town living is enough for me.

Tonight I'm thankful for my Mama and all she does for me and everyone else. I love her and can't put it into words... and I know she loves me because she drove through rush hour traffic tonight to prove it!