Today started off incredibly rough. I was approached by a mom standing on the corner seeing her child off on the bus. She literally walked into the middle of the street to flag me down so she could inform me that I had "blown past" the stopped bus at some point last week. I immediately told I was sure I hadn't, as I am very conscious of such things, having small children of my own. She simply replied with a "Okay (with an eye roll clearly saying she didn't believe me). Well I have notified the school, and if you do it again I will have to take down your license plate number." And she walked off.
My first and biggest lesson from this encounter was to be very careful with the interactions I have with strangers. That woman doesn't know me, and has absolutely no concept that her few sentences to me threw off my entire morning. I was so embarrassed and angry and indignant and so many other things, and had no way to really deal with it because my interaction was over as soon as I drove away. How many times do I get snippy with a customer service person over the phone, or act less than polite to someone I deal with at a store? I tell myself what I say doesn't matter, they don't know me and I will never see them again. After today, I will think long and hard, as I now realize the impact even a stranger can have on my emotional health on any given day.
I spent the rest of the day doing all I could to ensure my bad beginning did not define my day. I cried on the phone to my mom, finally processing what had happened and allowing myself be upset by it. I took full advantage of quiet time and lay in my bed with my eyes closed for almost two hours. I didn't even sleep much, but gave my eyes some much-needed rest. I spent time with my daughters, letting their love refill my emotional bucket.
My day ended with me discovering my next door neighbor mowing my lawn. Our house was one of the few that had not been mowed yet this spring, and it was looking pretty jungly. But I had not said a thing about it, and without any hesitation Darren came home from a full day of work to do something kind for me. That act alone restored my faith in people for the day. Not everyday will go smoothly; not every interaction will be pleasant. But for every bad moment there are many more good moments, and these are what we should hold onto. It is so easy to cling to the anger and resentment - I did most of the day - but the good moments are what enrich our lives, and we should give them the greater attention they deserve.
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