IT'S NICE TO BE LOOKED UP TO.....

                                                                                                                    by Frank McCarron

Every man (well, maybe just me, I shouldn't generalize) wants to be Superman and looked up to and respected and looked to for direction. We want to be The Man of Steel who has all the answers. We want to be “the man” who the town turns to when the monster is about to devour Metropolis. And that is a fun dream. But sometimes….. 

Today, for example. We are stuck 120 miles from home and decisions have to be made: 

What will we do?  Where will we stay? Are we home yet? 

99.99% of the time my loving wife and my loving mother-in-law rely on me for “the decisions”. I don't mind, although at times I'd be happy to hear opinions and thoughts and not just “oh you decide”. 

I don't mind being Superman, but at times I'd cheerfully give up the cloak and disappear into the crowd. 

Today with all the commotion of the highway being closed I neared my breaking point. I spent hours monitoring the traffic situation on my cell phone and then my beloved MIL spends 3.6 seconds on Facebook and says “oh, traffic is starting to flow”. So we drove to the point where the police were turning folks around. The one and only post that said the highway was “starting to flow” turned out to be the Admin of a group that keeps us all up to date on these kind of traffic situations. He was 100% wrong. He couldn't have been more wrong if we tried. But my MIL read his post and thought “whatever”. 

My near meltdown was exacerbated by already having spent too many hours with a family member that I don't like but tolerate because he is the MIL's brother and she loves the big lug. And now we are spending the night as guests on his sofa. I'd rather have wedges under my fingernails spending more time with him, but for the sake of ‘family happiness” I sit quietly surfing FB in his small apartment living room.  

I've cooled down. I am less likely to curl up into a ball in the corner than I was an hour ago. 

I will survive. But I realize that while it is great to be looked to as a great leader, there are times I'd cheerfully let another qualified person take the lead of our expedition, even if only for a while.