Grateful For The Mishap On Tuesday

It was Tuesday. I woke up an hour earlier than usual, not sure why. I did not feel stressed or anxious. I felt rested. Driving to work was supposed to be another routine. It was a typical January day, a little overcast, no snow on the ground. The morning commute to my Tuesday office is usually pleasant. It is mostly highway and there is no traffic.

About 1.5 miles from my office, I was about to exit the highway. Driving within 5 miles of the speed limit, I started to switch lanes in preparation to exit the ramp. Just as I was switching lanes, I saw this long pot hole in my path – it was too late to swerve, my car ran over it and I heard a big noise. I knew it. A tire was torn. Several seconds later, the warning signal on the dashboard was on, indicating that the tire pressure was very low, and advised me to pull to the side for safety.

It was not the first time that I had a flat tire. I exited the ramp on to a local boulevard. One mile away from the office. I was determined to drive slowly to my destination. In the meantime, I called my husband for help. It just so happened that he did not have to go to work that day.

“I’ll take care of it,” that was all he said. My husband is very hands on. He enjoys working on his cars and he has many tools and gadgets. I was grateful that he was off and was able to rescue me from my car trouble.

What a way to start my day. I thought to myself, in a somewhat curious manner – what else could go wrong? While I secretly hope that was it, I was prepared for any unexpected events to come my way.

My husband arrived at the office. He got to see where I work and meet some of my staff. He called the tow truck and left in an Uber. He left me his car to drive home.

I kept my calm and pace to see my patients, one at a time. “See the patient, do the chart” – I was chanting to myself in a quiet voice.

While I was doing well with being on time, the computer started to “think” longer than usual. The little circle kept moving, indicating that the computer was loading something. Eventually, I had to restart the computer, hoping it would just fix itself.

The computer was restarted five times that day. The more appropriate thing to do was to call for I.T. support, but I chose not to because of the wait time.

I made it – it was 5:15 pm. I saw twenty-two patients and completed my work.

What a day. Mishaps happen when you least expect them. We cannot go back in time and reverse the process. What we can control is our opinion about it and what we are going to do about it. It could have been worse. The flat tire could have happened in the middle of my trip, such that it was impossible for me to arrive at the office on time. My husband could have been working or out of town.

Every day is an adventure. It is a learning process. It is a training ground for us to practice our beliefs and manage our thoughts. There is always a worse case scenario if you come to think of it. It is an opportunity to practice the light-hearted approach to life. Why does it matter? It is your well-being. Everyday mishap is preparing you to handle bigger disasters in life with calm. I am grateful for this particular Tuesday’s training session.