"With God's Grace Our Worst Past
Becomes Our Best Future"
Becomes Our Best Future"
Life is full of wrong turns.
A friend of mine said she’d be so lost if she drove without a GPS. Truth is, so would I. Then again, I manage to get lost even with Chatty Cathy hollering at me to turn left or right and giving me fair warning.
That’s not surprising, as I often become disoriented in a mall. Many times when I come out of a store and think I’m heading toward the end cap, I wind up at the food court instead.
I grab a doughnut and coffee, justified by the additional steps I’ll have to take to walk back to where I wanted to go in the first place, and start the journey over.
When I first learned to drive, many decades ago, road maps were the navigational tool of choice. When I wanted to take a trip, I pulled out my Atlas, wrote down the directions, and headed out. Simple enough, unless you’re directionally challenged.
I cannot distinguish North, South, East, or West when I’m on the road. I suppose I should have installed a huge compass on the dashboard. I’d read the road map only to realize I read it upside down and ended up ten miles north instead of ten miles south.
Today’s handy GPS devices would have recalculated long before I’d gone that far out of my way.
Even though lost or in unfamiliar territory, I eventually managed to get to my final destination. The wonder is, through unplanned detours, I sometimes found little treasures that I would have missed if I’d gone in a straight direction or a programmed route.
Where’s the fun in always knowing where you want to go?
Sometimes I take a purposeful, spur-of-the-moment side trip … not knowing where I’m going or where I’ll end up—and with no GPS or road map. Just trying to remember what turns I took and try to retrace my paths.
Obviously, I’ve always managed to find my way back … unlike Charlie on the MTA, I did return.
On one of those unplanned excursions, I ended up at a huge flear market and bout a picture of a turn of the 19th century main street, with storefronts, horse-drawn wagons, pedestrians in a white frame. Though I sold it during our last “downsizing”, I vividly remember the painting, much like I imagine any small town in America would have looked back then. I liked to put myself into the town and imagine what my life might have been like in that era.
Sometimes a wrong turn or an impromptu adventure
can bring unexpected treasures.
Have you ever taken a wrong turn and wound up in Adventureland? I’d love to hear about it.
The Unexpected Adventure
Linda Wood Rondeau
8/5/2026
CELEBRITIES ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING
Linda Wood Rondeau
7/22/2026
LAUGHING THROUGH OLD AGE
Linda Wood Rondeau
7/8/2026
Waring Against Aging
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/24/2026
GOOGLE, WHERE'S MY PHONE
Linda Wood Rondeau
6/10/2026
HOW AI CAN HELP SENIORS COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH THEIR DOCTORS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/20/2026
THINKING TRAIN
FRANK BALL
5/7/2026
THE CHORDS THAT BIND MY MEMORIES
Linda Wood Rondeau
4/23/2026
A PERFECT WIN-WIN
LAURA B. EDGE
4/8/2026
A FRAGILE FREEDOM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
3/25/2026
RE-MARKABLE QUESTIONS
FRANK BALL
3/11/2026
Benefits of Vacationing for Seniors
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/25/2026
REVOLVING COUPLES ROLES AS WE AGE
Linda Wood Rondeau
1/28/2026
PIEROGIS: CHRISTMAS TRADITION REFLECTIONS
STEVE WYZGA
1/14/2026
WHERE DID PRINCE CHARMING GO
Linda Wood Rondeau
12/10/2025
OLD WOMAN ON A BUS
DEBORAH RUTHERFORD
11/26/2025
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MOOSE KIND
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/11/2025
Hilltop Reunion
Kathleen D. Bailey
10/29/2025
Dynamic Debbie
Linda Wood Rondeau
10/15/2025
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM
Linda Wood Rondeau
10/1/2025
WHEN WORDS BITE YOU
STEVE WYZGA
9/17/2025
THE WONDER YEARS REVISITED
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
9/3/2025
REPURPOSED NOT RETIRED
PEG ARNOLD
8/21/2025
MOMMY, I CAN'T TAKE A BATH THERE'S A FISH IN THE TUB
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/23/2025
MY NEXT GREAT NOVEL ADVENTURE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/9/2025
ADAPT OR DIE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
6/25/2025
A BETTER VIEW
SALLY JO PITTS
5/27/2025
A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/14/2025
A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/14/2025
A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/14/2025
MY CELL PHONE MY NEMESIS
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/16/2025
ARE THERE BENFITS TO TALKING TO ONESELF?
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
4/2/2025
What Would You Pay to Get Your Soul Back Today?
Brian Mayer
3/19/2025
A New Adventure: Therapy Dog Work Anyone?
GAIL SCOATES
3/5/2025
THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN'
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/19/2025
STAYING POSITIVE WHEN YOU MOVE TO A SENIOR FACILITY
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
2/5/2025
Seeing the Positives
Claire O'Sullivan
1/22/2025
Up-Country Gecko Tale Jungle Trekking
Brian Maher
1/8/2025
WHAT GRANDPARENTS DO
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
8/21/2024
SATURDAYS AT THE DOLLAR STORE
ANN CAVERA
7/24/2024
SAY WHAT?
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
7/10/2024
WE ARE PROFESSIONALS
ANN CAVERA
6/26/2024
RETIREMENT FIGURED OUT
DALE LANGLOIS
6/12/2024
GREED AND GEESE
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/29/2024
Surprise…Surprise…Surprise
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/15/2024
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM
LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
5/9/2024
MAMA I CAN'T TAKE A BATH THERE'S A FISH IN THE TUB
Linda Wood Rondeau
3/27/2024
WONDER OF LIFE
JOAN C. BENSON & MARJORIE L. WINGERT
3/13/2024
WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW
Linda Wood Rondeau
2/28/2024
THE NOT SO GOOD GOOD OLD DAYS
Linda Wood Rondeau
2/14/2024
Passing the Batan
Linda Wood Rondeau
1/31/2024
SHARING FAMILY MEMORIES
Angela Breidenbach
1/17/2024
LOOKING UP OR LOOKING AWAY
Linda Wood Rondeau
1/3/2024
EVEN WHEN I'M OLD AND GRAY
Linda Wood Rondeau
12/28/2023
PRINCE CHARMING, SPIDERS, AND CHEMO
Linda Wood Rondeau
12/22/2023
MOTHERLY WISDOM
CAROLINE CROCKER
12/6/2023
THE CAT WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/29/2023
NEVER TOO LATE TO START OVER
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/22/2023
Healthy Aging: Tips for Maintaining Wellness in Your Senior Years
Ashley Nielson
11/15/2023
IS YOUR PHONE ASKING YOU, "WHICH DOCTOR ARE WE GOING TO NOW?"
kATHY COLLARD MILLER
11/13/2023
OUR ACT II ADVENTURE
Deb Potts
11/10/2023
Money Matters: Financial Wellness Tips for Seniors
Ashley Nielson
11/9/2023
STAYING POSITIVE
Linda Wood Rondeau
11/8/2023
