When Nothing Goes Right...

Go left.

Yesterday I found myself locked out of my car. Yes, I am the blonde who leaves her keys in the ignition, grabs her Spanish notebooks, wonders why the automatic lock isn't working, and manually locks the door.

Sits through an entire Spanish class having the time of her life, playing Spanish pictionary, acting out Spanish plays.

Comes outside and sees the keys glinting in the sunlight and...none of the doors will open. Great.

SO, I had to pay CAA $35 (since I don't have a membership) and wait 40 minutes - outside on the curb in a dress with 8 degree weather - for them to come.

But I kept reminding myself of one thing. When something goes wrong like this, it's your life trying to tell you something. Even just something small. How can I turn this unfortunate moment into fortune?

Writing. Being quiet. Listening.

So, I went for a walk down the block and enjoyed the beautiful, tree-lined street and character homes. It got me thinking about what I will eventually settle down in. I began to write, about life goals I have and some new ones cropped up. I got so absorbed in writing that when the CAA man did come, I had to hold my hand up like, "Oh just wait, I'm a little busy here. Please hold."

The CAA man was a young, handsome guy (CAA has handsome men working for them?) and he seemed to be happy when I confirmed I was indeed the damsel in distress. I thought to myself, "the Universe set this up! This is another reason why this happened. Grateful!"  He unlocked my door in three seconds flat and I commented on his mad breaking-into-cars skills. He said he'd like to be Nicolas Cage and looked delighted when I asked if I could be Angelina. We began chatting and he told me he was going to work on the rigs. And stop. I turned around to put my credit card back in my purse and looked up to the Universe thinking - oh jeez. Why do you have to send me all the rig guys?! Can't you send me a man who loves hiking, dogs, the outdoors with a healthy dose of the city and travelling for good purposes? So I politely thanked him and went on my way.

The moral of the story is this: what could have been a really awful night for me turned into a blessing of time and a lesson on how I react in situations. A few years ago, I would've cried on the phone to my parents, kicked my tires and stomped around like a mad lady. This time, I took care of what needed to be done to get my car open, laughed at myself for being so absent-minded, took a walk and tried to see the bright side. I got some serious goal-setting done. And then I got home and started looking for a bike. You can't lock your keys in a bike.

Love.