When Inconvenience Is A Blessing
When I was little I wanted to be a tornado chaser (okay let’s face it, I still do). I don’t know whether this was Twister inspired or just ingrained in me. Whenever I see severe weather warnings my heart skips a beat and I feverishly am checking the radar and updates. It sends adrenaline through my veins! I absolutely love it! Yesterday however was a different story.
I went to pick my little love up at school around 5pm. As we were walking out the skies turned black as if it were midnight. As soon as my babe was safe in the car I closed the door and simultaneously the skies opened up. This storm did not begin with a sprinkle, it began with torrential downpour. “Phew! We got in the car just in time!”
My phone began to ring.
“Oh look, it’s daddy calling!”
I answered the phone, “Hello!”
“Hey, is there any way you can pick up the dog, I am swamped at work and don’t think I will get there in time”
“Of course I can do that!” I replied. My internal monologue went something like this though… “Of course this is an inconvenience with the baby in tow and it is beginning to rain but it will be ok, I am sure it will slow down soon, right?!”
“Thanks babe” my husband exclaimed……Inconvenience #1
As I hung up the phone and drove out of the parking lot the rain began to come down harder and faster, I could barely see. Then the wind kicked up. Tree branches were everywhere but I kept on driving to pick up the pup. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky and rolls of thunder rumbled the car. The baby began to scream in fear. “It’s ok baby, you're safe. Mommy’s here!” He quieted down for a little bit until the next rumble. I kept on driving, reassuring my son from the front seat. I drove up to one of the main downtown intersections and all of the street lights were out. Thankfully most people were cautious and conscientious. We made it to the puppy. Now, I had to figure out how to get the baby out of the car and into the doggy daycare without getting him soaking wet and then figure out how to carry a baby and a dog back out through the storm and into the car. Somehow I did it. “Ok! Let’s go home, precious one!”
As I drove home we came to a dead stop about 5 minutes into our drive. Smoke was pouring down from the top of the hill. I thought I could sit and wait in the line of traffic but the smell of the smoke began to fill my car…... Inconvenience #2
I called my husband…ring ring…
“Hey, do you know of any other route to get home besides our normal one?”
“Not really, the other way is very inconvenient and probably just as unsafe” he stated
“I’m going to just give it a shot!” I hung up the phone as I turned the car around….Inconvenience #3
After an hour and fifteen minutes in the car, a commute that normally takes 25-30 minutes, we were finally home safe and sound!
Later, I found out that the reason my normal route was closed was due to a downed tree and wires in the road that also caused a fire. All of this occurred about 5-10 minutes after five o’clock. I realized that I most likely would have been in that exact area at the exact time with my precious cargo in the backseat while all of this danger ensued. The only reason I wasn’t was because my husband called me to pick up the dog (inconvenience # 1), the smoke filling my car (inconvenience #2), and finding a new route (inconvenience #3).
Sometimes we view things as inconvenient and of course that is what some things are. It can be a pain being stuck in traffic, or getting behind the slow person in the grocery store, but maybe, just maybe this inconvenience is protecting you.
Sometimes these moments need a touch of perspective. Take a moment in the inconvenience to stop and be mindful (more to come on this later). Try placing your hand on your heart (come on, do it. No one is watching!), breathing deep (breathe in through your nose for 5 counts, and breathe out through your mouth for 6 counts), repeat this for at least one minute. Give yourself one minute to ground yourself and be present in your own body.
There are things in life we can’t control, but sometimes these might be the things protecting us, giving us time to be still, giving us time to breathe.
(Also, I would still love to chase a tornado at some point in my life just not with a baby in the backseat!)
You are loved!