By Brenda Cannon Henley
When I was home in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I found something interesting that had been created since I lived there. I was driving my vehicle, and my good friend of a lifetime, Ginger Doster, was with me. I stopped at an intersection in a small town and literally did not know what to do. I have been driving since before I was 16 and never experienced a chargable accident. I consider myself a safe and informed driver, but I was at a loss as to know which direction I was to take. There was a circle of green space in the middle of the contraption and about two dozen busy roads leading into the lanes around the circle. OK, perhaps two dozen is an exaggeration, but there were six or eight at least. Atlanta driving is akin to Houston driving.

My pastor often said that there only two kinds of drivers in Atlanta – the quick and the dead. Ginger immediately recognized the fact that I had no idea of what to do. “Oh, I forgot that you haven’t been in Conyers or Covington since the highway department built the new turnarounds, have you?” She very kindly engineered our way through that maze and we came out across the giant circle on the road we were supposed to take to the restaurant. “Do these things help?” I asked. She said that the engineers that designed them seemed to think they did and that more were being constructed in busy traffic areas.

I vaguely remember seeing these turnarounds in larger cities in the northern states, but never in Georgia. Being in the correct lane is crucial to your safety and that of other drivers. After a few more trips around the area, I began to get the hang of it and was able to get where I was going without an accident. I won’t say I learned to like the turnarounds, but they are there to stay. Perhaps they are more helpful than I know or can accept.

If you ever feel you are good at driving, just remember that this exists. A roundabout, made of roundabouts.

This is a happy time of the year and Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Christmas have always been exciting. In the past, I planned, shopped carefully, decorated with glee, and entertained family and friends. Without being sad or self pitying, I must admit that the last two Christmas seasons have been taxing to me.

My husband Ted loved the holidays. He was a better and longer shopper than me. He carried out his mother’s traditions and baked, or instructed me to bake, from her old recipes, and we made batches of delicious candy and nuts to share. He died in August of 2014 from cancer and little has been the same since.

Sitting in front of my beautiful first fire of the season, my soul felt jarred at the comparison of my life and the new turnarounds in Georgia. In so many busy areas of my life, I simply haven’t clearly known which way to go. However, I have done what my friend instructed. I slowly and carefully chose a lane that appeared safe to me, eased into it, and drove confidently toward my goal.

I have learned that Christmas and so many other things will never be exactly the same, but they go on and we learn. For all of our readers who have lost loved ones since the last holiday season, it is really going to be OK and we simply learn to celebrate a different kind of Christmas this year. Choose your lane and flow with it. Do what is best for you. Start new traditions and don’t allow anyone to tell you how it is supposed to be. Merry Christmas.
[12-5-2016]

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788 or,
[email protected]