Letting Go Brings In The New

This story is true. And this is the last time I’m telling it. Really. For now, anyway.

A few days before Christmas, I hit a concrete divider behind my place of employment and popped one of my tires. This was actually the universe looking out for me, as I found out later.

The front tires were old and worn, and I’d been putting off spending the money for replacements. But the weather was getting colder and I really needed some tread in order to navigate the snow and ice to come.

I had to take action. Since I needed to hold down the fort at the store, my friend Connie took my car, with the tiny spare on it, to get two new front tires.

I kept busy at work, and finally, Connie returned. She gave me a look of sympathy normally reserved for funerals.

Because I was on the phone, I couldn’t ask her what was up, but I did notice the plastic bag in her hand that contained two black rubbery-looking objects. Car parts. And then she said, “I’m so sorry.”

I got off the phone as quickly as possible and started asking questions. Did she have an accident? Was she all right? What happened?

“The engine fell out of your car in the street in front of my house,” she said.

My jaw almost hit the floor. I did the only thing I could do at that point.

I laughed. She laughed with me. This was one of those absurd events that requires a sense of humor.

We discussed how lucky we were that the engine didn’t take a dive while doing 55 miles per hour, and how me hitting the concrete had probably jarred it loose from its rusted moorings, saving me from possible tragedy – I had been planning a trip to Toledo the next day.

Connie took me to her house so we could wait for the tow truck to haul off my car and its parts. I was in a weird state of disbelief, with a “What else can happen?” kind of attitude. (Note: Never ask yourself that question.)

That’s when I remembered that our employer had called me earlier and had asked me to call him back. So I did.

“I hear you’re not having a good day,” he said. No, I told him, I wasn’t, but I was doing all right. I didn’t tell him that I had just turned down a cup of hot tea in favor of bourbon on the rocks – an unusual choice for me, but in this case it helped mellow me for the next thing that happened.

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but we’re closing the store for good as of 5:00 today,” he said.

“Okay,” I said. What else could I do? The trifecta of negative events was happening to me all in one day, so I could get it over with and get on with the positive stuff.

You didn’t think I would end this without a positive twist, did you?

One of my favorite quotes is from author Cheryl Richardson, who reminds us to ask ourselves, “What do I need to let go of in order to welcome in the new life I desire?”

Apparently I needed to let go of my job and my car. But I have what’s important. I have good friends and family, and a great partner who has been a pillar of strength. And I have the determination to experience the “new life I desire.”

Any day is a good day to start fresh. My new life has already started. I’ll just let the universe point me in the right direction.

Published in The Daily Telegram, Adrian, Michigan on January 20, 2007