Gratitude From a Bad Attitude

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I thought I’d done my last Blog for 2008 but just wanted to share this. I was sat at home doing some reading when I got a phone call from my wife. She was driving back from work and had got a flat tire and needed me to drive out and help her to change the wheel.

I was thrilled with the opportunity to go out in the rain (I wanted to say cold and rain there but thought that might be taking artistic license just a bit too far here in Orlando) and thrash about trying to remove wheel nuts that had been put on by Popeye’s bigger stronger brother. After all, why would anybody want to sit at home and read when they could be almost killed by reckless drivers, get covered in oil and scrape their knuckles red raw? It’s a no-brainer, give me the wild outdoors anytime.

I set off with my trusty toolbox in hand (I say trusty in so much as it’s never fallen to pieces unlike most things I try to mend when I usually reach for it) and a bad attitude in mind. I was still whining to myself about how unlucky I was and what a bummer for this to happen on New Years Eve to a great guy like me when I got to Helen.

“I’m sorry”. Were her first words to me.

“It’s not your fault” I replied. What? I thought. That was a bit out of left field actually saying it wasn’t her fault! Technically of course it was true, but c’mon there’s no need to admit it immediately, I’m sure I could have milked the situation for a bit more. This life coaching malarkey is going a bit too far.

Then I said, “It could have been worse, you could have been on the I4, or even another 10 miles away” Then I reeled off a number of ways in which we were actually lucky that this happened!

• The tire didn’t blow out and cause an accident
• It wasn’t raining hard at all now – it had been earlier.
• She hadn’t been approached my any weird strangers
• I wasn’t back in the UK
• She hadn’t forgotten her cell phone like she often does
• Her cell phone was charged
• I wasn’t with a client
• It wasn’t 7.00pm and dark
• It wasn’t likely to have any impact on New Years Eve
• She wasn’t in her own car, which is a Z4 and doesn’t carry a spare
• The tires had done almost 25,000 miles so were almost ready for changing
• It got me out to the Post Office to mail some books
• There was no damage to the actual wheel
• We managed to get lunch together immediately afterwards at a diner nearby
• We didn’t need a tow truck
• All the necessary parts to change the wheel were in the car

So there you have it, all’s well that ends well, We skipped home in the now brilliant sunlight through the meadow holding hands, picking dandelions and laughing as we went. Unfortunately though in our blissful state we forgot the cars and both of them were stolen within minutes.