What Happens When Your Landmarks Are Corn Fields

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My 31 Days Series From Hometown to New Town will return on Monday. For now enjoy a story or two of funny stories that took place during our first year settling in to our new town.

I will admit that I am extremely directionally challenged. When I was living in my ocean valley town growing up it really was not an issue. I could use the mountains and the oceans as landmarks to help me figure out which way to go to get back on track. As a newlywed in my husband’s hometown I used the surrounding mountains and lakes as guides.

When I arrived in Indiana, there of course are no mountains nor oceans to help me find my way. Instead there are miles and miles of corn and soy fields with the odd tomato field thrown in. These fields all look very similar and don’t offer a directionally challenged person much help. Plus with crop rotation and season changes they don’t stay the same for long.

Which is how a mom of three little ones found herself rolling down her window to a complete stranger to ask directions to a town she wanted to explore. “Well mam you go 3 miles north and then 2 miles east” replied the kind stranger “uh thanks” I replied, because it seemed more intelligent than “and how do I tell which way is north without a mountain or an ocean to guide me?”

So I drove a few miles further and passed a few more corn and soy fields before panic began to set in as I saw nothing but fields of corn and soy to my left and right as well as in front and behind me. Finally I got out my cell and dialed my hubby “I am lost in a sea of corn and soy” my husbands response was “what is the name of the road,” which of course was a number not a name so it did not help him nor I much.

I thanked him for at least trying to help and went on trudging through the corn and soy until I came to a 4 way stop. At that 4 way stop I came up with a plan that has not failed me since. I would just follow the direction that most of the vehicles were going because surely they were going somewhere popular and perhaps that somewhere popular would help me find my bearings and lead me to my actual destination.

I am fully away that this plan sounds crazy but it worked that day and has continued to work for me. Since that day I have used it over and over again and so far it has never let me down. Sure there was that one time I ended up in another state, but from there I clearly understood I was going completely the wrong way and so I just turned around and the road brought me home. So even that time the plan didn’t really let me down it just lead me a bit further away before it got me to where I wanted to be.

The children and I have also discovered all sorts of interesting places following my new “follow the crowd” direction plan. Well except for the time we used it in our states capital city, that time the interesting places we discovered were more scary than interesting.

How about you? Do you need landmarks to find your way around? Or do you have a built in compass that never lets you down?

This post is part of the New Town to Hometown series. Use the links below to dig into the series.

Introduction: My Story

Part One: Becoming Friend Worthy