To Maps and New Journeys!

Sherlock and I complete an year of married life on the 7th of December. I thought today about what comes to mind when I think of the last one year and surprisingly, out of nowhere, you know what came to mind? Google Maps.

For several reasons.

Till before I got married, I thought I was a good navigator. I also think I am a good singer and writer and cook. Till I do any of this in front of someone who is not me and the mirror. 

So when we got married and moved to Bangalore, I was appointed the Chief Navigator in our discovery of the city. Sitting in the car on the front seat beside Sherlock, I would open my Google Maps and start. 

"Keep going straight, till I say otherwise. Oh sorry. I think you had to take that left there. It was so small, I missed it."

"Just go straight. Over the flyover. Oh. I think we had to go below it. Can you jump off it now?"

"Third right on the circle. Oh wait. We missed it. Complete the circle and come back here. Oh wait. We missed it again."

It takes all my strength and a beating of my already bruised ego to say this, but I really cannot recall once in the entire year gone by, when I guided Sherlock to the right place, without *atleast* one wrong turn. And that is the reason why it occurred to me today why I love being married to this guy. Because while I recalled all the mistakes I made, I could not, for the love of me, recall once in the entire year, when this guy lost his cool, turned around and said, "You know what, you are wasting petrol. Can't you get this right once?"

Sure he may have taken the phone away from me once. Or may have said, "Just keep pointing to the North direction". Or once in a while joked, "If we were in a rally race, we would have lost."

Despite that, the patience he shows when I navigate - that defines "us". Me as the childish, impatient girl who just wants to get things done. Him as that steady, rock like presence in my life who puts up with everything I do, never complaining, but making sure I reach my end destination, no matter how many wrong turns I take. 

Google Maps also defines us for all the journeys I have taken with Sherlock this year. I have always lived with family. Trips for us meant LTC, a well planned trip in a train or flight, with an all day taxi booking to take us around. Never went on any long road trips with friends either. So when Sherlock suggests taking a drive to some place near Bangalore, I get over-excited. (I act cool and don't show it much, to keep my dignity). 

But when he drives, we talk, sing songs, eat so much, drive to unknown places, discover places together, argue about philosophical topics. In those long drives, I realize the meaning of the "Traffic Jam test for a soul mate" - Who is that person you would not mind being stuck with in a car for a long time? That's the one you marry.

Google Maps is a metaphor in our lives, isn't it? One destination, multiple routes, red lines showing traffic (If its Bangalore, there'll be only red lines), construction activity, toll on some routes, two minutes slower but costs less. That's life. So when someone asks me how was the year with Sherlock, I'll say, just like getting the right route on Google Maps and following it till you reach where you wanted to.

And so, I swear by Google Maps that this year, I will learn to navigate and make sure I help Sherlock reach his destinations, just like he helps me with mine. I will also not take too many wrong turns. And when we do, I will try and be as patient as him. I will also use maps to find more and more new destinations for us to reach. I will make sure every journey gets us closer and lets us discover ourselves, as much as we discover the world around us.

So, here's to an exciting new year of being with you. 

And here's to Google Maps!

Love,

Preeks