Outsourced!

Don't you just love it when you get a new toy?
Honestly, it's great when you can catapult yourself back in time to experience the excitement and wonder of Christmas morning like a kid again; when, on occasion, you receive a gift that, simply put, feels like a toy. That's just what happened to Hubs and I this year. We made the six hour trip to Ohio to visit my parents the week before Christmas and found ourselves on the receiving end of a brand new toy. My parents got us a GPS.

Now you have to know that we LOVE small town America. Can't get enough of it. We'll be driving along a country road, out in the middle of nowhere, and we'll see a sign that reads something like, "Chatham, 2 miles." The curiosity immediately takes over.

Chatham?
What's in Chatham?
How small is Chatham?
Do they have a downtown to speak of?
A traffic light, even?
How many people live in Chatham?
Is there a must-visit diner in Chatham?

Before you know it, we're turned around and headed to Chatham because we simply MUST know.
Ya know?
Yes, really. We love to get our fill of small town America.
So a GPS, combined with a six hour drive back to our home? Oh baby, come to Momma. ;)

And at first it was great fun. We laughed when she reprimanded us for turning the "wrong" way (reminds me of that line from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: "You're going the wrong way," to which John Candy replies, "How would they know where we're going?") We also enjoyed using the various GPS features to check out local sights. And the gas station feature? A must (we nearly ran out on our way home last trip, at night, in the middle of nowhere and with no knowledge of the route we had decided on that day.)

It didn't take long, though, to realize that she was taking over.
SHE! With her, "Turn here" and "Make a left there."
SHE, with her clarity of voice and powerful presence, all up in my face dashboard and all.
SHE, staging a full coup. An all-and-out, "Take your lame collection of laminated maps and your backseat driver's permit and join another row 'cause you're not needed in the front row any longer," take-over.
SHE, in reality, had replaced me.

Suddenly, I was just another passenger on the manifest.
No longer the second in command.
No longer the eyes and ears of the captain.
No longer the lighthouse or ship's navigator.
No longer needed for anything involved with getting us home.
In effect,.....I was outsourced.

Come to find out you're apparently supposed to name your SHE. And so, after careful consideration, we narrowed it down and crowned her with a title truly worthy of one who waltzes in and takes away the job of another.

Her name?
Nellie the Scab.
Well what would you name someone who came in and stole your job away? Exactly!

Oh, the adventures we look forward to with our new "friend", Nellie.
But I'm telling you right now, she better bring her best game at all times.
Otherwise?
I might see fit to dim her lights and resurrect my map collection.
Not that I'm bitter about my, uh hem, displacement or anything.

Toni