I was just talking with a niece about our family's tendency to stop at the same places during each of our ritual trips, vs. the tendencies of some of us to explore, find new places, etc.

There was a funny moment several years ago when I drove a car independent of the larger group as we swarmed to our homing grounds. The idea was that I would stop where I wanted to, and they would stop where they wanted to, and eventually we'd all end up in the same place and have our big visit together.

At one point in the trip, I foolishly let the gas tank get too low in a place where there aren't many stations. I remembered, though, that there was a particularly trustworthy spot up ahead on the road, so I made a plan to hit that spot up one more time even though I'd rather have gone elsewhere.

When I pulled in, serendipitously, there were all the rest of my family who were making this trip. I hadn't seen them for days on the road; I hadn't planned to meet up with them; but there they all were.

It was a happy moment.

Herring405