A couple of weeks ago, I was having a Very Busy Saturday. I had to run a few errands before meeting my family for dinner, and rushed around trying to get them done. Ever have those days where it feels like you're swimming against the very strong current of life's river?
It sure seemed like that's how things were going for me that day. Traffic was slow, people kept cutting me off, all sorts of things like that. My last stop was at an IKEA to get Missy a present. If you must know, a plushie Carrot like this one:
She really likes Broccoli, my plush that Squee gave me, and often cuddles with her. I wanted to get her Carrot so she could have her own special cuddle buddy for when Broccoli and I aren't around.
Anyhow, the particular mall where that IKEA is, that's maybe the most trafficked, busy, crazy place in town. People drive way too fast, cut each other off, the whole thing is a giant stress nightmare. I was trying to make a left turn onto the street where the store was, and had this super aggressive guy behind me. He kept honking at me, trying to make me force my way across the traffic.
Eventually I did make the turn, and he did too, actually tried cutting me off to get around me and get into the garage. We almost hit each other! As we pulled into the underground garage, he was right behind me, making me very nervous.
That was when I felt the current of life's river turn with me. (Or maybe just stopped obsessing about what a stressful day I was having, same difference, whatevs!) As we came around a corner, me and my stress-tail, I saw a parking spot only I could take - because it was reserved for hybrid cars like mine.
I parked, and he sped away, driving much too quickly in the crowded underground lot.
I sat there for a moment, catching my breath, and then stopped to take a picture of the sign in front of the spot, because I was really, really grateful for it.