The Turnaround

Yesterday, my guitar teacher gave me a new song, and after we went through the chords for the verses and the chorus, he told me the chords for a "turnaround" which he wrote on the music for me. Such is my beginner state that I am unfamiliar with the "turnaround" and he explained that it is a short bridge between the chorus and the verse, a place for the guitar player to get the singer or listener safely back to the verse after the chorus. I liked the phrase and it stuck in my head today, particularly after I ran into a terrible traffic jam on my way to Boulder, and I had to get off 36 at Sheridan and turn around to come back home.

I called my spiritual director to let her know I would not make it and she wished me luck in finding a place to turn around. Isn't that just the trick in life - to figure out a way to turn around, or go over, under or through a difficult situation? I was reflecting on something I have been telling the kids in their difficulties: life is made up of challenges and obstacles. Any smooth sailing is just a brief interlude between the normalcy of having issue after issue. I used to think it was the other way around . . . but I was wrong. Now the "turnaround" has a whole new meaning for me. It's not just a sweet spot for the guitar to work its magic, but it's also the art of making the best of a bad situation, and going in a new direction.