This time of year, it can be difficult to keep up. Besides arrangements for gift giving, there are holiday get-togethers with coworkers, friends, or family, and all of this on top of the necessity of getting to and from work. Needless to say, this situation has you, me, and everyone we know scurrying everywhere, filling the roads and keeping each other from efficiently completing our appointed rounds.
I suppose the hectic nature of the holidays is something we have to put up with if we choose to celebrate them.
Then again, more serious circumstances could make the season much less merry and bright. The hospital is full of folks keeping vigil over sick dear ones. Countless workers will continue to live paycheck to paycheck after the gifting is done. Some people are trying to smile through this festive season for the first time since the loss of a loved one.
If the worst we face this year is being too busy, then we have blessings to count.
I am trying to maintain this healthy perspective while coping with an unexpected event. The afternoon sunshine was lovely as I left a client’s studio, so I skipped the highway home in favor of a more scenic route. Motoring along below the speed limit on a clean, dry road, all was well — until it wasn’t.
I caught the briefest glimpse of a deer leaping from the wooded shoulder; in an instant it had severely customized the front left quarter of my car and scampered back into the woods. I pulled over to assess the damage.
My main feeling was profound disappointment. I was alert, with my eyes on the road, but the animal had moved swiftly enough to not be avoided, so I couldn’t be mad at myself. But modifying my vehicle from perfectly able to barely drivable was a disheartening development.
The car and I limped home; within two hours, I had scheduled an estimate at the collision shop and secured another vehicle, one lent to me by a friend who is away for a few weeks. Sharing the incident on social media, I was struck by how many people asked if I was okay.
Fact is, I was completely unscathed. Colliding with an animal of that size and weight, I could have been hurt badly. Really, I barely had to postpone anything on my calendar.
No, my biggest concern was if the needed repair will total my car in the eyes of my insurance carrier. And if that’s my biggest concern, I should be feeling pretty much on top of the world.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not looking forward to paying the deductible, or purchasing a suitable replacement ride if the insurance company deems it necessary. But if that’s the most pressing of my worries, I’ve got it pretty good.
Perhaps most of us can say the same. We’ve all got problems, crosses to bear, and weights to carry, but here’s hoping you can start 2018 seeing that the glass you hold is half-full. That kind of vision will surely make for a happy New Year.
Pat Grimes, a former South Bay resident, writes from Ypsilanti, Mich. He can be reached at grimespat19@gmail.com