DAY 350
“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.” Unknown
After the day I had I needed to unwind, so I took a drive into the country where everything is so beautiful and free of the hustle and bustle. This isn't the greatest photo, but it brought me peace and joy as I was taking it in and I still feel that same feeling as I look at it.
My little Saturn and I had a near death experience today as this old man in a van decided to merge into my lane. Unfortunately the only thing to the right of me was a giant snow bank. Not the white fluffy kind either. It was the frozen solid, ice block kind. I pushed on my horn, which has never been the best, and slammed on my breaks to find a giant ice patch. I closed my eyes and saw my life flash before me for a brief second. When I opened them I realized I was still in one piece and so was my car thanks to that crappy horn. He jerked away just in the nick of time. I was totally annoyed and pushed down on the gas and sped around him to give him one of my nasty looks.
As I was dropping off items to Goodwill today, there was this scary black lady who flagged me down. She had a half crazed look in her eye and muttered some story that I couldn't quite make out. The short of it was she needed money. I don't carry cash, so had nothing to offer. But she wouldn't leave me alone. It was reminiscient of a time in Orlando when Haldan picked up this homeless dude right prior to being dropped off on base and then left me alone with him. He wouldn't leave until I found an ATM to give him money. (Long story.) I guess fear got the better of me.
I also managed to finally finish packages to ship. Today was officially the last day to mail with regular rates and still make it by Christmas. Hopefully it works and I'm not kicking myself on Christmas morning (that I didn't do priority) when their packages haven't arrived. It saved a ton of money though. It was quite the chore. I won't go into all the details, but it involved some packaging peanuts, freezing temps, and long lines- none of which are my favorite things. It also took me at least 5 minutes to get all of them inside the post office- 6 trips, 2 different stopping stations and it was counter height (about 4 feet tall?). Where was the cart when I needed it? Four people got in front of me in the process. I'm relieved it's over and I'm thinking seriously about sending visa gift cards next year.
So, if this was a test today... I totally failed on so many levels. I was not giving, generous, patient, charitable, or understanding. Where's my Christmas spirit?
