Under Construction
The county that I live in has been growing rapidly over the last, well, two decades really. It's now a county with one of the highest concentrations of people. The road system was never designed for such growth.
Consequently, construction has been a fact of life for many years. As I commute quite regularly throughout the county, I come across construction in all sorts of forms.
One of the biggest projects right now is US 19. Once a three lane highway, it is becoming an interstate with ramps and overpasses. As it changes, the businesses that once "littered" the side of the highway have become extinct, due to the inaccessibility. Where the construction is finished lays a wasteland of buildings that used to thrive.
In the areas where there is ongoing construction, it is quite a mess. Mounds of dirt, armies of trucks and bulldozers; barricades galore.
Driving around this construction is frustrating and sometimes scary. Yesterday, I noticed a new fork to the left which didn't exist before. Turns out it was the exit I was looking for, but I missed it.
I naturally turn to metaphors, and this one seemed so appropriate for me, especially at this time in my life.
I feel like my life is "under construction", but I am realizing it always has been. Roads in my life that used to be there have morphed into new roads and some aspects of my life were not forgotten but bypassed and left behind.
Construction is not easy to deal with at the time. But it is an inevitability. We see a road that is terribly congested with vehicles. Everyone is suffering because they can't get to where they need to go in a reasonable amount of time. Something has to change.
Realizing things need to change happens sometime after having too many bouts of "road rage."
Then there is a stage before the construction begins; a planning stage.
Then the first part of the road is dug up. It's necessary to create an temporary alternate route in order to get where you need to go.
At first, the construction may slow down the flow of traffic even more. It may seem like nothing is getting done. Then you question, "why did I start this process in the first place? Weren't things just fine as they were?"
But things weren't fine. You outgrew them. And you've already started digging up the road. The only thing to do is keep digging.
Slowly, and it certainly does seem very slow if you've ever experienced dealing with road construction on a daily basis, things begin to change. The first overpass is completed. The traffic starts to flow more easily. The exits work and people get to where they need to go efficiently.
Once the construction is done, it can be un-nerving at first, because the landscape has changed so dramatically. The familiar routes have disappeared, and a new system has taken place. But you know you will accept it, because it is now what it is, and it is in fact much better than what previously existed.
I will look forward to the day when US 19 is finished. But for now, I understand that it's under construction.
Transitions are scary, but they are part of life. To embrace them is to say, "I understand my life will be under construction, but I am willing to work through this in order for my life to flow more freely."
Consequently, construction has been a fact of life for many years. As I commute quite regularly throughout the county, I come across construction in all sorts of forms.
One of the biggest projects right now is US 19. Once a three lane highway, it is becoming an interstate with ramps and overpasses. As it changes, the businesses that once "littered" the side of the highway have become extinct, due to the inaccessibility. Where the construction is finished lays a wasteland of buildings that used to thrive.
In the areas where there is ongoing construction, it is quite a mess. Mounds of dirt, armies of trucks and bulldozers; barricades galore.
Driving around this construction is frustrating and sometimes scary. Yesterday, I noticed a new fork to the left which didn't exist before. Turns out it was the exit I was looking for, but I missed it.
I naturally turn to metaphors, and this one seemed so appropriate for me, especially at this time in my life.
I feel like my life is "under construction", but I am realizing it always has been. Roads in my life that used to be there have morphed into new roads and some aspects of my life were not forgotten but bypassed and left behind.
Construction is not easy to deal with at the time. But it is an inevitability. We see a road that is terribly congested with vehicles. Everyone is suffering because they can't get to where they need to go in a reasonable amount of time. Something has to change.
Realizing things need to change happens sometime after having too many bouts of "road rage."
Then there is a stage before the construction begins; a planning stage.
Then the first part of the road is dug up. It's necessary to create an temporary alternate route in order to get where you need to go.
At first, the construction may slow down the flow of traffic even more. It may seem like nothing is getting done. Then you question, "why did I start this process in the first place? Weren't things just fine as they were?"
But things weren't fine. You outgrew them. And you've already started digging up the road. The only thing to do is keep digging.
Slowly, and it certainly does seem very slow if you've ever experienced dealing with road construction on a daily basis, things begin to change. The first overpass is completed. The traffic starts to flow more easily. The exits work and people get to where they need to go efficiently.
Once the construction is done, it can be un-nerving at first, because the landscape has changed so dramatically. The familiar routes have disappeared, and a new system has taken place. But you know you will accept it, because it is now what it is, and it is in fact much better than what previously existed.
I will look forward to the day when US 19 is finished. But for now, I understand that it's under construction.
Transitions are scary, but they are part of life. To embrace them is to say, "I understand my life will be under construction, but I am willing to work through this in order for my life to flow more freely."
I love this analogy. Kind of a companion piece to "Life is about the journey, not the destination". There are times that forks in the road and detours appear on said journey. Keep on truckin', Emily.
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