My favorite kind of problem
Is the kind that results in me having a full-on mental breakdown… juuuuust kidding 😅
But seriously, that could have been the case when I recently encountered a series of unfortunate events. Instead, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude because of all my “angels” along the way.
Last week, as I was coming back from a long, emotionally jarring (yet beautiful) weekend there was suddenly a cloud of steam and funky odor pouring from the front of my car.. A sassy “Of course 🙄” shot from my mouth as I pulled over on the highway, still 40 minutes from home.
Now, I could tell this story by highlighting how long I waited for the tow truck, how expensive the fix was, and how bad my luck was … but gratitude truly is an attitude so my highlights are actually:
Within minutes, two strangers who stopped to check in on me as I was on the side of the road, offering water and to wait with me. (Points for humanity)
My friends Ellie and Christopher, who were equally if not more exhausted, graciously spent nearly 1.5 hours with me helping me sort and secure a free tow to my house.
My bestie Amaijah who, without hesitation, called me and said “I’m coming to get you” and even picked up some of my obscure diet-friendly snacks and flowers to cheer me up.
My neighbor Omid who put me in touch with his mechanic friend, Hector - who went WAY ABOVE AND BEYOND for me. He got my car in and out within a matter of hours and even gave me rides back and forth out of the kindness of his heart (Angels really do exist!) For those of you curious - yes, it was a coolant issue.. The base where the hose connects had broken into pieces.
My roommate who offered to let me borrow her car the next day while my car was in the shop, and offered support during some stressful moments.
And… all the others who talked me off the ledge, offered solutions and insight, and let me be human through it all. I am so grateful for community!
I am also grateful that I had already scheduled that day off for myself and didn’t have to scramble to reschedule my life, I had money in savings to cover this unexpected expense, and that by fixing this issue several other issues were fixed that I didn’t know were related (yay for having a working heater now!)
So yeah, I’m sure you’ve heard it a many times in many ways, but why not once more? Gratitude goggles are a game-changer. 😎