The Turtle In My Rearview

There are 2 ways in and 2 ways out, to and from mi casa. There is the ever hurried interstate and then there is the peaceful, lush, scenic backroad. I drive the backroad as much as possible. The view of the river gets me everytime. The trees and the forced slow weave of the back and forth, the twist and turns, does what I need...it slows me down.

Sometimes I see the most spectacular birds hanging out in the water. They look like cranes. Tall lanky birds standing still like statues. They disappear into the landscape with their magical camoflauge trickery, but I know they are there..so I look for them. I find them. They make me smile. I don't bother them....so I think I make them smile too. A girl can pretend.

Occasionally I see a turtle crossing the road. Most of the time, I will pull over like a taxi driver and load him/her in and drop her off at the next water spot. I mean...why not? Turtles are slow and cars are fast...you do the math.

Today I passed a turtle in the road. He was quite large, and honestly I was afraid of him. I'm pretty sure if I had tried to deliver him to the stream, he might have bitten me. No joke, he was big. I watched him in my rearview. He was bookin' it and I'll be honest....I was cheering him on..."GO TURTLE GO". I didn't want the aforementioned mathmatical equation to shatter his shell and ruin his life. As I'm watching him trek on to a safer spot, and as he became smaller and smaller from my vantage point until complete invisibility....I realized....aren't I just like a turtle?

~I'm always aiming for a better place, but I don't always get there.
~Sometimes I'm safe and sometimes I'm helpless and in danger.
~Sometimes I am too dang slow.
~Sometimes I really need to be carried.
~Sometimes I can manage on my own.
~I'm often alone.
~I never know what's up ahead.
~People come and go. Very few stay and help out.
~I'm incredibly thirsty.
~Sometimes I bite and people are scared of me.
~I can be a hard shell on the outside.
~Someone is usually watching me in their rearview.

Turtles don't give up. They are always in search of the nourishment. Though slow, they move. They go.

As long as my heart is beating, I hope I never stop moving with purpose.