The Map in the Garbage Can

My delightful, full-of-personality family: the one in the orange is child #4

It has been a long and emotional week. Child #4 joined the ranks of college students on Tuesday. We had the whole family there to cheer him on; we took pictures, and left him a little care package to open after we were gone. Then daughter #1 and her husband returned to their home, while one and only husband and I returned to our home with child # 2 and child #3. Now, mind you, none of them are actually children. Every one is 18 or older – which is part of the reason we came home to the chaos of #3 packing her own belongings to head back to college. We moved her to her dorm room today, Saturday. #2 is still at home, temporarily, while he job hunts.

So, I came back to the car after saying a goodbye to yet another of my offspring, and I found my trusty Minnesota roadmap in the car garbage. I assumed that it must have fallen there by accident. It is, after all, THE map I always use when hunting out where we are.  As we had just been on an unnecessarily extensive detour, courtesy of MNDOT, my map had been out during our trip to the campus. When I pulled the map out of the garbage, my dear, sweet husband told me to leave it there. He informed me that the newer map we had was far superior and that my tried-and-true map was garbage. I kind of flipped out.

I am the navigator in our family. My husband is the driver. We discovered early on in our marriage that this was the best arrangement. Disagreements decrease and travel mercies increase when we travel according to this preset plan. SO WHAT WAS HE DOING THROWING AWAY MY MAP??? He explained why the newer map was better. It had many more roads. It was more detailed. It was 20 years newer.

OK, all of this I knew, but I don’t like the new map. I like the old one, I told my husband. It folds better. (The words sound pathetic coming out of my mouth.)  It is smaller, so it opens easier in the car. (This also means less detail, something I often complain about.)  I tried to explain that I know the new one has more things (like anything added to the Minnesota roadways in the past two decades), but I still like the old one better. I didn’t even sound convincing to myself.

How can a person feel a sentimental attachment to something as silly as a roadmap? I don’t know, exactly, but I seem to. This map has holes and tears in it from the folds. It quotes 1990 census figures.  It was, in fact made in 1992, a full twenty years ago.

Bottom line: I don’t want a new map. I don’t want to change. I liked things the way they were. This map guided us on the majority of our family vacations while the kids grew up. I know just where the folds hit the sections of the state of Minnesota.  I KNOW this map, and it is comfortable.

You see where I’m going here, don’t you? Life is changing, and it is time for a new map. I might cry. I might miss the old map. I am not acquainted with the new map. I might fold it wrong. But (and this is a big but) I MIGHT like it. I might be able to find roads more easily. I might enjoy having updated maps of the largest cities in MN. This new map could just come in handy.

The roadways have changed, and I need a new map. Ready or not, CHANGE – here I come.

New map on the left (duh)