It's been a long, exhausting couple of weeks, and I thought maybe it was time to switch things up and write a blog post that's a bit lighter than usual.
I hope it's one that you'll relate to and will make you laugh, or at least roll your eyes at me!
I spend a lot of time driving back and forth to work, and some days it's more frustrating than others. Especially when the car in front of me fails to let me know when they are turning.
One of my biggest personal pet peeves is when people don't use their turn signals.
Turn signals serve as a way to let others know you are changing course so you can avoid a collision, and they are also a sign of common courtesy. So why do so many people seem to ignore them?
Do you think they don't know they are there? Or perhaps they are just out of "blinker fluid?" (Shout out to my big brother Chris for trying to trick me with that one when I got my first car!)
Either way, it's incredibly frustrating when I am driving along and the person in front of me suddenly decides to turn with no warning. It's not so bad if they are turning right, as they can usually turn immediately.
But, if they are turning left against traffic and I have to come to a complete stop, that really gets under my skin.
I grumble and say a few choice words and then feel superior when I use my turn signal at the next turn that I make. All the while wondering to myself why it is so difficult to use that little lever on the side of the steering wheel.
With so many other things in life that are much harder, can't we all commit to doing the simple things?
I guess I should thank these people for helping me be more aware of what's going on around me. Although, in 25 years of driving, I have never rear-ended one of them.
When I reflect on the purpose of a turn signal, I sometimes wish that they existed for other areas of our lives.
I would love a heads up when someone at work is going to change course on a project or if a family member is just about to veer off the path we've been happily traveling.
Maybe a blinker that my boys could use when they all of a sudden decide to go from happy to crabby without any notice?
A figurative "turn signal" that would alert others when things in our lives are changing could actually help us all understand each other a bit better.
So, do your part and use your turn signals (both literally and figuratively)!
It's one of those simple things all of us can do that can actually make the world a happier place.