Level Crossings

Once and a while on a train trip where rail meets road we would hear the ding ding ding of the bells and know that we had come to a level crossing. We would wave to the people waiting in their cars to give way to us since cars can stop but trains can't - well not so easily anyway. Unfortunately Ohingaiti is where car has met train all too often with tragic consequences, when a motorist has failed to stop! When we passed through, road works were underway to do away with this notorious level crossing. An overpass was being constructed and once completed, the cars will travel over the train which will pass underneath through a tunnel. Car and train will no longer have a chance to meet at Ohingaiti!

We took our Crossword Puzzle book with us on the train. To do a crossword together, morning and night has become one of our 'rituals'. It began sometime during the year we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary. It's a good ritual. We have discovered that a crossword is a simple tool that forces us to work together to solve something. It requires that we work as a team, each appreciating the different skills and perspectives we bring to the task at hand. Sometimes one has to give way to the other to allow for 'different isn't necessarily wrong'. Some like to go right through the 'acrosses', then the 'downs' then go back and fill in the gaps. Others like to work outwards from a spot, doings 'acrosses' and 'downs' at random to fill in the empty spaces. Some are good at coming up with answers from thin air and a broad, general knowledge. Others are better able to visualize the answer once a couple of letters are in place to prompt them. Some are brave to slam in a word, even if it might turn out to be wrong. Others are more cautious and like to be sure of being correct by checking all the clues around about. Some like to be neat and tidy and others don't mind scrawly writing and cross outs.

Whatever the case may be, a crossword has been a good ritual for our marriage. A good daily opportunity to appreciate each others differences, to encourage one another, and to be gracious enough to do a crossword together without cross words. At a level crossing where train and car meet, someone always has to give way!