Red light green light

“Red light!” my tiny co-pilot shouted as we drove down Northland Avenue early yesterday morning.

“Sure enough,” I croaked sleepily. “There it is.” We stopped the car and waited in companionable silence.

“Green light!” he yelled with system-shocking glee.

“Yes sir,” I said and we drove on.

“Yellow light! Hey! Hey Laura! What’s a yellow light for?” he asked.

“That means slow down,” I said. “It’s telling us to be careful.”

With my little navigator carefully tracking each stop light we approached, I let my mind wander a little. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a little voice shouting out colors (maybe with fewer decibels) that alerted us to what’s ahead.

“YELLOW LIGHT!”

Woah! Slow down. There’s trouble down the road. Check your mirrors. Choose your words carefully. Treat yourself and those around you with a little extra kindness. Plump that pillow before you sleep because you’re going to need your rest. 

“RED LIGHT!”

Stop! Life is hard, man. Sometimes you have to take a deep breath and let the traffic move on. Breathe. Call a friend. Soothe yourself with silence. Then you can check your GPS, make the necessary adjustments, buckle up, look both ways, listen and get back out there.

“GREEN LIGHT!”

Go! This is it, your one true life. Set some goals and then get after ‘em! Sing the song! Write the book! Run the race! Make the phone call! Set the date! Sign the dotted line. You can do it but you have to start. Now!

Happy Friday! I hope you all have a great weekend!