Gizmo Empowerment

We are a technological society. I bet in almost every household there is some sort of electronically advanced device. Electronic weather centers, cell phones, smart phones, computers, laptops, the GPS, satellites, DVR, DVD players, flat screen T.V.’s, XBox, Playstation, Nintendo DS, the WII...Oh my! These things can be addicting but more importantly, empowering.

I am new to the GPS. My parents gave me one this year for Christmas because I am the Queen of getting lost and we always seem to be moving somewhere new. I hate getting lost, I mean reeeeally hate it! I panic, I cry, I yell and usually end up calling someone to help. I am not a confident driver, I almost hate driving. If someone else is going to the same place I will be the first to volunteer to ride. You can drive my car, i’ll give you gas money, i’ll ride on the roof, i’ll do whatever I have to in order to not be the driver.

Having a GPS suction cupped to my windshield gives me the little boost of confidence I need. Plug in an address, select “Go” and let the lady in the machine tell me what to do. There are times when I may argue with her a little (or maybe a lot) and sometimes I take the wrong turn but the good thing is, she will always get me to where I need to go. For me, this is empowering.

I’ve driven cross country once. Ross and I packed up our lives and drove from Southern California to Down East Maine (I know...what a hike!) when he EAS’d from the Marine Corps. We did it the old fashioned way, by map. Luckily he drove ahead of me and all I had to do was follow. I wrote out my directions “my” way...ya know... “Turn left at the big yellow house with pretty flowers out front.” It took us four days to get to our hometown in NY and then another 10 hour trip to Machias Maine. Would I ever volunteer to do it again, heck no! But, I could. If I wanted to. Which I definitely don’t.

Anyway, with this new little gizmo in my car I feel like I could drive anywhere if I wanted or needed to. Lizzie and I have driven from Maine to NY (and vise versa) four times and I feel so good about myself when we get from point A to point B without any major hiccups or hysterical phone calls to Ross or my Dad.

My blog has recently been about me finding my confidence, realizing my inner beauty, and balancing finding myself and being a strong pillar for my family. Sometimes I can’t do it all alone and I need some help. With this particular journey I get a little help from an electronic lady perched proudly on the windshield of my Toyota Corolla.