I sit, reflecting back on an oddly undisturbing day. I drove
our still unnamed car to the dealership for its “ten-month checkup”! WHOA
DOGGIE!!! That is one of those events you anticipate for what seems like an
eternity.
The morning finally comes. You have to decide if you are
going to go through with the appointment or throw yourself off your balcony. You
live on the ground floor. The ground is well mulched. Yes, you could hurt yourself,
but after Karla bandaged you up, you would still find yourself driving to the
dealership in far-away Moreno Valley.
So, I took unmamed car in for its check-up. There really were
no other options. When I made the appointment, they told me it would be two
hours so I was prepared with a book and a bottle of water. When I arrived, they
were swamped. But a young man greeted me shortly. I could tell by the sparkle
of his eyes that he was grinning. He told me he loved my mask and thanked me
for giving him a smile and he said Lauren would be out soon. I have to admit
that simple greeting made all seem cool. (Thanks again, Trudy.) A couple of
minutes later a woman came out, introduced herself and said that Lauren was
busy, but that she could get me checked in. Check in went quickly and efficiently.
When I asked about the two-hour estimate, this person was apologizing left and
right, but it would be three hours. She gave me options; they had drivers who
would take me anywhere, or they had a tv lounge I could sit it.
She was good at her job. I was oddly calm and went into the tv
lounge. There was a novella playing. Soap operas in Spanish aren’t my thing. But
across the drive, dappled in sunlight was a cement bench. It wasn’t a warm morning
so the sun sounded wonderful. The bench was surprising comfortable considering
it was concrete. The curves worked for me. I spent an hour and half reading a great
book that Karla loaned me, enjoying the sun.
But my amazing paradise sunk into shade and I went inside
for warmth. I found that if I sat in the back of the lounge, the novella didn’t
distract me and all was good. About an hour later, I decided it was warm enough
outside and went back to my little paradise. At 1PM exactly may car was pulled
up right in front of where I sat.
I went inside. Lauren greeted me and said she was just
finishing up my paperwork. The woman who checked me in came to Lauren’s station
and made small talk, and the dude who first greeted me joined us. We talked. About
the book I was reading. And how do you find time to read? We focused on things
that are unifiers, intentionally or not.
A totally bad day was actually okay.
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