Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Anymore I am really trying to ‘find the good’ in life’s stumbling blocks. I don’t always succeed, but at least I try. This evening I was supposed to meet someone at 4:00 at Pt. Defiance. I left Lakewood at 3:30. At 3:55 I had just exited onto Pearl. No way am I gonna make it and no way I’m I gonna get another speeding ticket. Accept it. She’s already said her bus home doesn’t come until 4:30 so I’ve got some time. And then I hit EVERY SINGLE red light between

6^th Ave

& the zoo. One light I got stuck at twice because the fire truck, sirens red hot, came thru in the opposite direction. I start to get a bit ticked. I don’t ever like to be late. But as I park my car I realize I just got to hear one of my favorite songs all the way to the end, which always makes me smile. I stop singing, full volume, and go meet my appointment. She’s not upset at all.

The same evening, around 8:30 I decide to hop in the hot tub. I take a refreshment and the Stilleto* which Chris has just recently troubleshot and reactivated. I set the base on what I think is a safe spot. I’m hummin’ along, enjoying some mommy time, and being caught off guard by the occasional gust of wind on my face. It’s surprisingly stormy out there. All of a sudden I notice the blue light special going on in the water below. I’m having flashbacks of Close Encounters, (you know, when the mother ship starts flashing all sorts of intermittent lights and playing those 5 notes…). I can see the display screen, under water, showing me the song that’s playing (it’s Pet Shop Boys if you really must know) and I follow the blips and chirps until, soon…the abyss. This is bad! With my lightning fast reflexes slightly impaired, I pull the precious cargo from the water, pop the back off, remove that battery and set it all upside down. Dear Lord I hope it works tomorrow. I react by being pissed off. But soon I get myself back in check. (Really?! Gonna be pissed off that you were stupid enough to have an electronic device within 6” of the water, wind blowing, and you’re somehow surprised by the outcome?!) My initial reaction is to get out of the tub. But then I sat back and enjoyed the symphony that Mother Nature was giving me…for free! The gigantic maple tree in the back yard was groaning, the bird feeder (empty because the squirrels ate all the seeds) was swaying in the wind with the hinge squeaking, the windchimes where doing their job, a gust of wind would occasionally direct all the hot tub steam right in my face and leaves & helicopters were pelting the glass lean-to over the tub. I sat there for another ½ hour, until I turned into a giant prune and had to get out. As I type now, the screen keeps flickering, a power outage is looming…and I am ‘saving’ often. The wind is howling and I can hear branches and limbs falling throughout the neighborhood. (you KNOW if I can hear it, it is REALLY loud!)

I’m reminded of the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff”. We each define our own “small stuff” but I realize that my definition grows more broad (or is that broader?) with each passing day. Enjoy life while you can…and everything is small stuff…

*the Stiletto is the satellite radio equivalent to a WalkMan. It has dozens of channels, all available for a monthly fee, in a sleek handheld device. But it is not waterproof.