Peering Through Life's Window

This morning I turned on the car radio to hear the emcee congratulate a woman for finishing a marathon in the top twenty-five runners. She said, "I just needed someone to believe in me." Giving background the announcer explained that she had wanted to run the race, but didn't think she even would be able to finish. A friend had signed her up. Then, she was committed. Today, she was exhilarated. Listening to the story reminded me of a similar time in my life. I wanted to attend a writers' conference a little over an hour from my house in a place foreign to me. Each time I picked up the form to fill it out I recalled my terrible sense of direction. Then, I had visions of myself driving frantically down street after street, never finding my destination, or worse yet, leaving the site meandering on dark roads late at night unable to get back to the expressway. I know. When that happens one either asks someone or checks his or her navigation screen. I didn't have a GPS...