Back to Go Again
Photo by Pedro Santos on Unsplash
Early in our marriage when we still lived in Ohio, Susan and I took a long weekend trip to downtown Chicago. During a cab ride to dinner, we engaged in lively conversation in the backseat, probably making plans for a visit to Navy Pier or one or another museum the next day. The cab driver found an opportunity to join in.
“You know,” he said, “life is like a game of Monopoly. No matter where you go or how far you travel, you always end up back to go again.”
We all laughed, but that insight has stuck with Susan and me for nearly 30 years. In fact, it’s become one of our marriage mantras. We run into a challenge, Take on a project. Start a new job. And one way or another it feels like “we’re back to go again.”
Instead of viewing this as a negative, like I’m stuck in a rut or I can’t move forward. I tend to view it as a positive. And I think that’s what our cab-driver philosopher intended.
By declaring “I’m back to go again,” I’ve acknowledged that I’ve made it around the board. Maybe I’ve collected $200. At the very least, I’ve gained wisdom and experience that will make my next trip around more fun and fruitful. This “back to go again” approach also helps ground and reset me when I face a big or unexpected challenge.
We drove back to Cincinnati from our wonderful Chicago adventure only to be greeted by a for-sale sign in the front yard of the home we rented. Our landlords had decided to sell and hadn’t bothered to tell us. We found ourselves, not for the last time, back to go again.
