Growing up my mother always told my sister and me that we could do anything that we set our minds to. I always thought that this something that all parents told their children: especially when it came to eating foods like liver, cauliflower or eggplant. Which sort of went hand-in-hand with that saying that there were children starving in Africa who would love to have all those foods.

So it wasn’t until I was married many years later that I discovered this adage to be true. My husband and I were stationed in the Republic of Panama when we experienced what some folks called the ‘seven-year itch’ where during marital bliss so many things go wrong. So I returned back to the U.S. before our tour was completed. 

Attached to a Reserve unit in Oklahoma and having spent several summers there for Reserve summer camp, I decided OKC was as good a place as any to regroup and decide what I wanted to do next. The closest port for shipping my car from Panama to Oklahoma was New Orleans, which was over 500 miles away. And while it irked me when my spouse always remarked that I couldn’t ‘find my way of a paper bag’ sadly it was the truth. However, I had no choice but to go as I needed my car.

One friend helped me to map out my driving route, with a warning to not go through Shreveport as the two-lane roads would make my trip longer. Another warned me to be aware of the Dallas Loop as that circled around the city. That once I found myself on it, that it would be difficult to get off, etc.

With those warnings rumbling in my head and much trepidation I hoped a one-way flight to retrieve my car -- another step forward on my road to independence. With military ID and military orders in hand I claimed my vehicle. Gassing up, I was soon on my way.

Naturally, I ended up in Shreveport. By the time I was realized it, I had gone too far to turn back. Steadfastly I drove behind trucks with blowing hay or carrying pigs and every smelly animal imagined. By 3:00 in the afternoon, with my legs cramping up and my back starting to ache, my faithful Honda hatchback rapidly ate up the miles. My goal was reaching Dallas before stopping. Reaching Dallas meant I was only 3 1/2 hours away from my final destination.

The morning rush hour found me on the Dallas Loop. Around and around I went, seeking an off-ramp. After a dozen more miss-turns and after getting lost a couple times, I glimpsed the sign -- I-35 to Oklahoma City. Roughly 4 hours later, I pulled up to my new apartment and new home. I had done it! 

It has been over 19 years since that day. However, I have been forever empowered. From that day forward, I knew that whatever the future held, I could face it. To this day I still feel it.  Mother was right. You can do whatever you set your mind to.