Our parking lot is a giant
box. Staff park their cars along the edges
of the box, and the traffic moves in the narrow alley behind our cars. I should mention that it snowed quite heavily
all afternoon, and by the time I exited the glass doors I could see my little
Subaru beneath a blanket of snow. But I
also saw gridlock. Complete, total
gridlock. A string of cars trying to
pick up students snaked the entire lot, and my car was inexorably stuck between
the fence and the bumper-to-bumper cars.
I tried to keep a positive outlook.
After all, the appointment wasn’t until 3:30, and it usually only takes
15 minutes to drive there. So, I grabbed
my snow scraper and cleared off my car.
Then I cleared off my friend’s car next to mine. Traffic had not budged in that time. I was doomed.
It was almost 3:20 when some
kind soul allowed me to back into the traffic string. I waved my hand gratefully out the window and
proceeded to inch my way toward the exit.
My heart was jumping by this time.
I didn’t have a phone with me, and all I could think was: Just
keep positive. You’ll get out of this in
no time. By 3:30 I finally emerged
onto the roadway. Yep, you’re late. But it is what
it is. Traffic was slow-going, and rightfully so. The roads were snow-covered and
slippery. I made my way onto the road and
proceeded to sit through three green lights at two separate intersections. By the time I merged onto the highway I had
to practice deliberate breathing to calm my nerves. I hate being late. And I knew Chad would be worrying about me
with the road conditions what they were.
As I made my way to Post
Falls I thought about two other bombshells we’ve been hit with this week: My Subaru has a blown head gasket. That will cost us right around $2,000. On top of that, the axle and front brakes
needed to be replaced, which we just shelled out $600 to pay for. Oh, and our 16 year old cat will have
radiation therapy for his thyroid in a few weeks. That cost?
A cool $900. The entire drive, as
I watched someone spin off the roadway into the median, I sorted our savings
and paychecks like that magic cup shuffling game. And I was woefully late for our Christmas
present.
But I thought about something
Chad and I discovered the other day. He
had called me from work; the railroad was a disaster and Chad had only one
crew. He was so frustrated he called me
just to blow off some steam. I told him,
“Just do what you can. That’s all you
can do. One thing at a time and you’ll
kick its butt.” He came home the next
day feeling proud of himself for doing a great job at work despite the
obstacles. Two days later we found out
about my Subaru’s repairs, and as we were driving to pick up the car to take it
for the brake and axle work (and while I was worrying about money), Chad said, “Well,
we will just fix what is necessary and leave the little stuff for later. One thing at a time, right?” And he’s
absolutely right. Trying to take all
that in at once was creating overwhelmed panic inside of me. But taking it in small doses really helped to
keep me from feeling like life was trying to eat us for diner.
So today, as I made my way along the snowy Idaho roads trying to get to my appointment, I reminded myself just to take each moment as it comes. It’s pointless to worry about the things that I can’t change or that don’t really matter, anyway. I arrived 20 minutes late, but in the end I still enjoyed a fantastic Christmas massage. After eating Chinese food and watching an episode of Love Boat in our warm, comfy bed, I feel ready to soak up the rest of the Christmas season.
May you have a blessed
Christmas filled with all the joy and wonder of the season!
No comments:
Post a Comment