Uneven Surfaces

by Donna M. Carbone

For the last few months, the highway between my home and office has been under construction. Each day, I pass men in hard hats driving backhoes and steamrollers from one section to another as they dig up and repave the road. Bob’s Barricades do a fine job, with their fluorescent orange color and flashing strobe lights, of keeping drivers safe by detouring them away from oncoming traffic.

Every mile or so, signs have been posted along the route warning of “uneven surfaces.” In some areas, shiny black asphalt has been poured over rutted and broken patches, leaving them cushioned and smooth under my tires. From rough to smooth to rough again, I am uncomfortably aware of the jostling to my chassis... and that of my car.

This morning, as I drove on one of the more furrowed lanes, I got to thinking that the construction I have been dealing with everyday is a darn good metaphor for life. There have been many times when someone, not Bob, has barricaded my path, detoured me to or away from something I did or did not want. Although I may have been furious at the time it was happening, in the end I reached my destination wiser and, mostly, safer, than I had anticipated. Certainly, we have all experienced “uneven surfaces” -- those times when tears outnumber smiles and the weight of trouble causes visible sag to our shoulders.  Our strength of character is the hard hat we wear, and our backbone, rather than a backhoe, helps maneuver us through the rough stretches.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could fill in the cracked and potholed portions of our lives with emotional asphalt as easily as the construction crew fills in the holes in the road? Hard times would be so much easier to bear. Past mistakes could be buried under a new layer of resolve, and the path ahead would be a lot less bumpy. I, for one, would be very grateful for any signs that would warn me of what lies ahead.

Oh, that it should be so easy.