But then my mom stopped by and it hit me: I am blessed and lucky. There I was, in Sam's Club, trying to make arrangements for my car when my mom showed up, smiling and cheerful, surprising me with some comfy shirts and cleaning supplies (hint taken!) and a goofy purple ceramic piggy bank (double hint taken!) that just makes me laugh, and she reminded me that I was safe and sound, with time off from work (job!? what job?) and not stuck or stranded. True enough. And when I got home, I found a sussy waiting for me from Taiwan (thanks, MLD)!
It was five hours later that I was finally driving home (safely!) with my new wheels, and on the short ride home I realized how many people had helped me today. From my grandma and grandpa who called AAA for me (after I found out my card expired) and later renewed my membership (and the memberships of all their grandchildren), to my mom's boyfriend, who lent me his tire pump and later came over, leaving the cozy warmth of his home to drive me around town (in the rain and hail) to help me find the best price on new tires, to my mom who showered me with goodies, to the mechanic who installed the new wheels, to the friendly Sam's club folks who let me hang out on their sofa-recliner reading one of their books while waiting for my car, to the tow-truck guy with his free service, heated seats and thick Wisconsin accent. How silly to consider myself unlucky! I am blessed, and even more so because I was able to stop and reassess the situation, choosing to adopt an attitude of gratitude instead of a Woe is I mentality. And I am grateful for that, indeed. After all, what good is all the help in the world if we don't don't stop to say thank you and truly appreciate what we've got not just on a surface level, but from deep within the depths of our souls?
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10 s h o u t s:
I love this post. You're a peach. :)
I was driving home one very HOT day over the summer with the kids, by myself, from NJ to NH. 2 hours into the drive (with another 5 to go), I broke down in the parking lot of a Dunkin Donuts after I made a pit stop. The coolant pan (or whatever it's called) busted and there was no way to drive the van otherwise the engine would overheat.
So I called Jeff to drive down to help us.
I was miserable, and hot, and thought how lousy the day was going. I got the kids some lunch next door at McD's, pulled the van into the parking lot of a gas station/garage to let the attendant take a look at it, and checked into a hotel located in the adjacent lot in back of the garage to wait for Jeff to come "rescue" us.
As I'm waiting in the lobby to check in, Brendon says "This is our lucky day."
I say, "Oh yeah? How's that?"
He said, "We have food to eat, a man to fix your car, and a hotel room with air conditioning and a TV"
I nearly slapped myself in the forehead for having been so narrow minded and not realizing we could easily be stranded on the highway away from any convenient exit.
He taught me A LOT that day.
open your heart and you shall be blessed. i know i am just by knowing you.
So glad to hear there was a silver lining to that cloudy day.
Great Sussy. I am jealous! Yudi is a good man.
Grandparents rock! I still miss my Grandma. We used to go shopping at Woodfield Mall together when I was a teenager and had a blast :-) The lady wore heels and perfect makeup to her last days. Thanks for reminding me of her today.
It's amazing, how sometimes our blessings become more clear when our mood is cloudy. Love this post!
Cool sussy too!
Your post brought tears to my eyes - in a good way. Made me remember how blessed I am, too. The Lord works in mysterious ways, huh?
Glad everything worked out. You have some pretty great people in your life. :)
I was having a blue day until I read this...thanks for wiping the windshield for me. ;)
I'm glad there was sunshine in your cloudy day! (Hmm, and now I'm singing "My Girl", oops. Guess when it's cold outside you've got the month of May?) This is a great post.
And AAA is one of the best services ever. My mom renews my membership as a Christmas gift every year...a gift I hope I don't have to use, but it's good to know it's there. Also, if you show your card when getting glasses as LensCrafters, you get a discount. That's always good, too!
And I thought you last post was good. This one is even better.
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