My husband has an excellent sense of direction. I do not. And yet, after almost twenty-seven years of marriage, he still insists on giving me directions that include phrases such as “turn east.” Really? In response, I take a deep breath, give him The Look and ask him to rephrase using right or left. I try not to roll my eyes.
I once told him that my nose is like a compass needle – whatever direction I am facing is north; he thought it was hysterical. I wasn’t kidding. When I found the bumper sticker in the picture at a small outfitter in Hot Springs, North Carolina, I pounced. It describes me perfectly!
When I began gaming, I quickly learned that my no-sense-of direction extends into the virtual realm. *sigh* Due to their inability to refrain from telling me what to do and how to do it, my husband and sons are banned from the game room when I play. (Honestly, anyone that has known me as long as they have should know that bossing me around – no matter how “helpfully” – is not going to end well.) However, it is helpful that we play the same games. More than once in my early days as a gamer, I had to break down and ask one of them where I was supposed to be going – usually after wandering aimlessly around the same virtual area for half an hour or more. (Halo: Combat Evolved was the worst; I got lost SO many times.)
I am eternally grateful to game designers for realizing that some players are directionally impaired and adding features that allow us to easily discern which way to go next. This allows me to spend my time actually enjoying the game instead of just feeling my blood pressure rise as I wander past the same corpse for the umpteenth time. My trusty navigation app (and my trusty hubby) provides the same feature for real life.
If the theme for my website allowed me to have a different header for my blog, I would name it Directionally Dysfunctional. This isn’t going to be another blog about reading or writing – there are already tons of excellent ones on those subjects. Of course, writing will be mentioned – after all, it is my passion! My blog is going to be about life and Izzy’s world – where all directions are north. I hope that you will join me on the journey. I can’t wait to see where we will go!
