Sunday, November 18, 2012

30 Days of Thanks...Day 18


Day 18:  I am thankful to strangers, who unbeknownst to them, made a horrible day much more bearable.

As I was getting ready for work, my car wouldn't start up.  I noticed that one of my settings for the lights, which is always on auto when I’m behind the wheel, was switched.  I know I had the original battery in there which came with the car.  However, I do think I may have been able to stretch it out a bit if this mishap didn't happen.

The mishap cost me money I had reserved for a bill, gas money for the week, laundry, and to bring some food into the house.  It also didn't help that I had to replace my phone, which was on its’ last leg.  It just couldn't have come at a worse time, and I was feeling some sort of way, especially since I've been the only one bringing in income for a little over two months now.

A combination of feeling overwhelmed, homesick, and just things going wrong all at once just made me feel incredibly emotional. 

The shop got opened late, so I was trying to play catch up. 

When you deal with travelers, you deal with all types.  Some people just seem naturally crabby, and you don’t know why.  Others try to go out of the emergency door, even when the sign and you tell them the alarm will go off (yet they set it off anyway). 

On this day, however, I had more of the pleasant and jovial variety—more than I had in a long time, for during the weekend is when one tends to get the most difficult of customers. 

I saw travelers just happy to be alive. 

I saw the volunteers who had come all the way from my home state of Mississippi to help the Red Cross with Hurricane Sandy and were on their way back home.

I saw travelers who said they were happy to see me because I was one of the more pleasant people they had encountered since being in Jersey.

I saw people who just wanted to talk and needed someone to listen, even if they would never come this way again.

All of this helped me to better deal with what’s going on.  No, it doesn't bring back the time or the money, but it definitely aids me to cope.

Peace.

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