Just when I thought I knew it all and I had it all figured out I am thrown a curve ball and am reminded that I am not really in charge here. Yesterday I blogged about what a frustrating day I had. God heard, and she decided to put my frustration into perspective.
So today started as any other day. I got up, showered, dressed and got Madeline up for breakfast. Bryan (BIL) came over to watch Madeline while I taught my morning class. Class went really well. (I love this class already. Sometimes classes jell together and the dynamics simply work. This class is one of them, but that is a topic for another post...) I left class and was on my way to pick up Madeline when I stopped at QT for a drink. Got back in the car.
It. Won't. Start.
I can't get a hold of Bryan, Kevin is at work, Elliot is in Illinois, Kathy is at work, all four grandparents are out of reach, I. Am. Stuck. The jumper cables are not in the trunk. So I go inside to see if QT has any. Of course they do, but I have to buy them. ARGH!!!! Enter Tom, my first good Samaritan of the day. He lived a few blocks from the QT and said he could run home to get jumper cables, which he did. He tried to jump the car without any luck. Thank you Tom.
Bryan calls my phone, wondering why I am almost an hour late and I tell him my tale. He is wonderful and comes and gets me. Thank you Bryan. He has an appointment in the afternoon so he dropped me off at my parents house so I can get my mom's car. (It has a car seat in it.) I feed Madeline lunch and head back to QT with socket set in hand to remove the battery and take it to an auto parts store to test it.
With Madeline on my hip I open the socket set (upside down, ARGHH!) and then have to try to figure out which one I need to get the battery out of the car. Enter Gary, my second Good Samaritan of the day. As he was walking into the station he asked if I could use some help. I don't know if it was the fact that Madeline was sitting on the filthy ground using a socket set as toys or the look of sheer bewilderment on my face that made him stop but I was sure glad he did.
Gary took out the old battery for me. He loaded it into the trunk of my mother's car. He waited at the QT until I came back from the auto parts store with a new battery (b/c when they tested the old one it was beyond dead). Then he put the new battery in my car for me. He even spent 15 min fussing with the battery to make sure it was secure. This total stranger spent 45 min of his day just helping me. Gary wouldn't even let me buy him his soda. I mean that is pure love for human kind right there. From the bottom of my heart, Thank you Gary.
So to recap I now have a working car! Yea! But I also have my mother's vehicle at the QT too. So I called Bridget, one of the bad aunts and she came and rescued me. She left her car and drove my mother's car back to mom and dad's. Then I drove Bridget back to her car. Thank you Bridget.
I left school at 10:30am. I dropped Bridget off at her car at 3pm. 4 1/2 hours.
And how is Madeline through this ordeal? She is an angel. She is hot, sweaty and tired but she doesn't complain. She just watched Gary as he worked. She sat on my hip and waved at the people coming in and out of QT. She was pacient and sweet. I am totally in love with her.
How was I? I was a mess. Ok, not really. I only really lost my cool once, when talking to Kevin on the phone. (One of the 10 million times I called him at work today.) I was actually frustrated. But I kicked into action and did what needed to be done.
What did I learn today? Yesterday wasn't that bad and as Kevin kept telling me, today could have been a lot worse. I am proud of myself really. Before I started this examination of how I deal with negative situations I would have started to look for more negative events in the course of my day. But today, with the morning's inconvience behind me, I was able to come home and relax and say honestly to myself, "this morning wasn't the greatest but I am going to make the best of the rest of the day."
I am learning. Today was a glass 1/4 full kind of day.
mg
6 comments:
you're welcome! by the time i got there, madeline had a permanent frown affixed to her face, but she was not complaining one bit. the frown only disappeared when her mom offered her a pacifier, something she rarely gets outside of bedtime. by the time we got the car back to mgk's mom's house, madeline was asleep, exhausted from her ordeal. maureen, you will no longer think of that place as quik trip, but rather slow trip!
in case you're wondering, the deleted comment was a duplicate of the first comment. i love that this refers to me as an author!
ugh, we've all had those days and they aren't fun! glad you survived. oh...and don't forget to pass along the kindness shown to you. that's what it is all about :) (kinda corny sounding, i know)
I LOVE "glass 1/4 full." That's awesome. And I really needed to read this positive kick in the pants tonight!
Wow. Now THAT's a day. :/ Yea for the kindness of strangers! And woo hoo for teaching! :)
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