A Round-About on Perspective
Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 10:34PM I took Christian to a birthday party yesterday. I went to the front door with him, and when the dad of Christian's friend opened the door, Christian and I went in. Their dog was checking us out, sniffing and wiggling and doing what dogs do when someone new comes into its house. As the dog sniffed my leg, I noticed that my pants were suddenly cold and wet. I had dog snot on my leg. Dog. Snot. I am not a fan of dog stuff on my person, and I was anxious to get home and change.
Before I left the boy's house, I asked the father about the twin babies who were just born very recently. He said they were still in intensive care. They were about 1 and 2 pounds at birth, and the little girl was struggling but the boy was a tough little guy. I told him that we would be praying for the babies and for him and his wife too.
I talked to Mike before I drove off from the boy's house; Mike asked me if I would go to Home Depot for him before coming home so I could get the part he needed to fix the toilet. I went to Home Depot in my snotty pants. I won't lie, I was bothered by it...but it was no longer a Very Important Thing.
When I got home from dropping Christian off and running the errand, I parked Mike's truck in the driveway in the back. Our driveway slopes down to the alley. I turned the key but couldn't get it out. I started the truck again, tried to turn the truck off and remove the key, but still couldn't do it. I tried once more and then, exasperated, I thought,"I'll just have him come out here and do it! What is wrong with me?!" I pushed the emergency brake down (like I always do) and I took my foot off the regular brake and the car began rolling backwards. I heard a little yelp and looked back quickly to see Eliana's door open; I quickly smashed my foot back on the brake. I realized that the parking brake had not engaged, that Eliana was still in the truck and okay, and that I had not put the car in park, all at the same time. Something had distracted me once I had pulled into the drive, and I have no idea what it was. Knowing that I almost did something very terrible to Eliana...there are no words for that feeling of panic. Everything inside of me felt like it was coming up into my throat. We will now have a rule that she may not open the door before I get out of the car. And I may not get out of the car while it is anything but parked. We all need rules.
Dog snot on my pants is rather unpleasant. Hearing of another family's babies fighting for their lives is heartbreaking. Running errands for my husband while I'm out anyway is no big deal at all. Realizing anew in a heartbeat's time how much you love your kids is painful and eye-opening.
Perspective. I was distressed when the dog snotted on my pants. But really? There are problems in the world that are so much more worth my distress. I'm going to try to focus on what needs to be focused on each day, both here at home and in the world. Seemingly impossible task? Maybe. I'm going to do it anyway.
Reader Comments (2)
My mom brought along my brother and me to deliver Meals-on-Wheels when he and I were preschool age. We made frequent stops so she allowed us to sit on the van's foot step with the sliding door open so that our legs hung down by the road (obviously it was pre-carseat laws!) He fell out one time and she RAN OVER HIM! I yelled to my mom, "Stop! You ran over Ryan!" Talk about scary! She ran over him across his knees and didn't do any damage, he didn't have a scratch on him! His angel was watching over him that day! I'm so glad you didn't have to experience that!
It may have come in a roundabout way but you landed in the right spot. So glad Eliana is ok!