If I HAVE to get shafted…

Posted On February 22, 2012

I may as well enjoy it, right?  Imagine my joy in finding out this morning that I had the good fortune to get the car that needed gas in it. I love my dear husband, but man, it certainly throws me over the edge sometimes when he doesn’t think about filling up the tank before he gets home for the day.  I don’t believe that he does it on purpose.  I honestly think he doesn’t really pay much attention to it.  I’ve even had to rescue him once or twice because he didn’t realize he was out himself and was driving the car. In fact the last time I got the car that was low on gas, I’m surprised I had enough fumes in it to even make it to the station.  Maybe it’s me, but it makes me crazy even getting down to the 1/4 tank level without getting the urge to fill ‘er up.

So, going on my happy way to run the usual errands it was a bit chilly.  I also needed a costco run and was calculating the real estate in my cart as I was shopping because not only did I not get the car with the gas, but I also did not have the luxury of my behemoth SUV where I need not worry the bulk of the items that I am purchasing for the day.  I found myself GRRRing again.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did indeed manage to squeeze everything into the trunk, despite several items of girth as I was purchasing for an upcoming cub scout banquet.

When I got into the car, even though I didn’t really HAVE to, but I HAD to, I rolled the top down.  After all it was February, for god sakes and it was well into the 60s.  How can you not take advantage of that opportunity, especially since I didn’t have to worry about any loose costco cargo flying away in the breeze since I happily managed to jam it all into the 2×4 trunk I was toting.  It just felt good.  I really took note of the huge flag flying that I probably would not have noticed had I not been driving the ragtop.  It was enough to make me appreciate that I love my country, and love where I live.  I was also lucky enough that the airwaves had some really awesome driving music to enjoy the beautiful day. Seriously, what is there not to like?

I’m a big believer in the fact that little things truly do make a difference. I’ve been really trying of late to appreciate the ordinary as a result of a recent class on blogging that recommended that you mindfully think of 5 things to be grateful for each week.  If you pay enough attention, even if you aren’t having the best week ever, you will more than likely find that there were several moments that weren’t so bad after all.  Actively recognizing that fact is enough to pull you through and help you to enjoy life a little bit more. Isn’t that the bottom line anyway?  Feeling out how to enjoy life to it’s fullest?  So here’s to taking a look at those empty tanks and turning them into days with the top down!