I want to describe yesterday…
I had an 8:45 breakfast meeting. I’ve met people at this restaurant many times before, and knew exactly how to get there. When I arrived, I handed my car key to the valet (as there’s no other parking near the joint) and went inside. I was the first one there, and that struck me as odd. I hadn’t had so much as a sniff of coffee, so I ordered a cup – stat. I started my ritual of dumping half and half into the joe and looked toward the door. Still just me. It occurred to me that I should check my appointment info, just in case I’d misread the information. Yep. I was at the wrong restaurant. So I got a to-go cup, paid for my coffee and the valet, and jumped on the freeway. By the time I reached the correct location, I was an hour late.
Re-set.
The meeting was great and I finally left the restaurant at around 12:20. When I got to my car in the parking lot, I couldn’t find my key. That’s because I had locked it in the car. I called AAA and waited. It was around 70 degrees, clear and sunny. I could have gone back inside, but I opted to just be still and enjoy the day. But I was jumpy – from coffee or stress, I couldn’t tell. AAA did indeed come to my rescue and I got in the car and drove back across town. It was 1:07 in the afternoon.
Re-set.
I headed over to a designated location, to pick up credentials for a Saturday 5k event. People weren’t handling the check-in procedures well and some were getting snippy. I managed to shut them all out, go where I was told and received all pertinent information. I got back in the car and dodged more than a few drivers on the wrong side of the road.
Re-set.
The car’s tank was near empty, so I hit a gas station on the way home. I filled her up and headed to my neighborhood. Two blocks from the hotel I spotted about 12 or so cops on a street corner. A couple of ghetto birds hovered above. I heard some sort of loudspeaker commands: “warble warble – Come Out – warble warble!” I have no idea what was going on. I was just glad to be on the top floor of the hotel.
Re-set.
At 3:01, I started to calm the f%&* down. My hands stopped shaking and my breathing slowed.
Re-set.
When I left the hotel yesterday morning, I had a to-do list with me. My intentions, though noble, were all shot to hell. For some reason, the Universe just wasn’t keen on my going about things the way I’d planned. There was no choice but to go with Plan B. Life is like that sometimes. It just is. There’s no use fighting it and there’s no point in trying to understand it. Better to just go with it. Period.
I snapped the above photo while waiting for AAA. When I first saw those turtles, I thought they were a sculpture. But no – they were real. And they were just soaking up every bit of sun that they could. They didn’t care if they were on the right rock or the wrong. They didn’t care if their buddy was in the water or out. They didn’t care if another schmo turtle got in their way or not. They just cared that they were. And that it was a beautiful day. Whereas I kept trying to re-set – after every little detour – the turtles seemed to be telling me, “You’re already there. Chill.” Nature is a tremendous teacher.
With all my heart, I wish I were a tremendous student.
Re-set.