One of Those Days

Do you ever have one of those days? I did. Grab a tea. It’s a doozy 🤦‍♀️

I dropped steve off at a meeting here at the Bonita Bay Marina the other day.

Before he got out of the car he said “the keys are right here,” Not really paying attention I nodded… or maybe just ignored him…not really sure. In any event when he gets out of the car he inadvertently grabs the keys and puts them in his pocket. I got out of the passenger seat and hopped into the drivers seat. Tank and I were going on an adventure. We were going to the mall to get some white jeans.

Tank and I listened to some tunes and I hummed along all the way to the mall, while Tank hung his head out the window enjoying this beautiful warm sunny Florida day. I found a good parking spot and turned off the car…I looked down at the spot where Steve usually leaves the keys and realized the keys weren’t there. Where were they? He said something about them being somewhere!!! Jeez I need to pay more attention. I quickly hit the ignition and nothing.  The car will only start if the keys are in it.  I couldn’t find the keys anywhere..not on the seat, in the seat, under seat, in the console, in my purse…dear Lord where the hell were keys ?

Ok I thought. No big deal. I’ll just call Steve and tell him he took the damn keys and he can meet me after his meeting. Assuming he’d be able to get a drive to the mall. Worst case scenario if he couldn’t catch a ride I’d simply call an Uber.

I went to the store and tried on some jeans…didn’t find anything. On the way out of the store I thought I’d send that text to steve…..OMG!!! Where the hell was my phone? Tank sat patiently waiting as I searched and then dumped the contents of my purse onto the pavement. There may or may not have been an F-bomb or two! No f-ing phone! What was I going to do?

I decided I’d walk a few stores down to the Dillards department store. Often I see fellow Bonita Bay peeps there. We walked around and nothing. Of all days, I dont see a soul that I know or even recognize. At this point I have no idea what to do.

I left and walked out to the corner. There was a man standing somewhat in the middle of the sidewalk. He had a slight resemblance to Charles Manson. He was wearing a black ski jacket with a hoodie over his head, dark shades and a full face of gray hair! Oh dear Lord. I have to walk past this guy. Then I realize he is actually standing waiting at a bus stop!! I got so excited. So full of hope. I could  use a bus right about then!! I hesitatingly asked him where the bus goes. He said “south on 41 through Bonita Springs”. Well what do ya know about that?! That’s exactly where I needed to go. We started making idle chit chat. He told me he was from LA originally and continued to tell my how you don’t want to get on a bus at night with strangers because you never know who you’re getting on the bus with. 🤔 Charles asked me where I was from and I told him Canada. Then he shared some plane crashes he knew of in great detail with me. Right down to the head count. Oh god!! Where is the freaking bus????

Finally an hour later one pulls up to the stop. The bus that was supposed to have been there fifty minutes ago had “been in a wreck” according to the driver. My new friend Charlie asked if he could get on first in case they kicked me off with Tank. Shit…I didnt even think about that. Please let them accept dogs. We hopped on and the driver said “service animal?” “Yes” I replied. “What service does he  provide” “seizures” was the first thing that popped into my head. Apparently it was a good answer. I got the thumb over the shoulder pointing to the back of the bus to get on.

No sooner did I put my money in the machine and the driver floors the gas pedal. Tank and I go stumbling down the aisle in a full trot. Then he slams on the breaks at the light and Tank and I reverse back up the aisle where there was thankfully an empty seat that I fell into. Tank is very nervous. He’s never been on a bus before never mind one that is being driven by the male version of Sandra Bullock in the movie Speed!!! Cripes. We go flying down 41.We came to another full stop to pick up two women. These women, you could tell were regular passengers. They knew to hold onto the bar overhead so as not to stumble down the aisle. The driver was unrelenting with his gas pedal. Tank at this point jumps up on the seat beside me shaking.

Next thing, the bus driver stops at a red light and starts yelling out the window to the guy beside him. I am not sure what happened but the driver yells “usually I would throw a water bottle” I have no idea what that meant. Did he mean he would throw the bottle at the guy he was yelling at? OMG..was this even a real bus driver? Has this bus been highjacked? Have I been kidnapped? Not a moment passed where I didn’t feel that my life wasn’t in danger or that Charles wasn’t staring at me from his seat directly across from me.

The bus driver started making his way into the left turn lane. Yo, “Charles….where is he going? I asked. “I thought he was going all the way on 41?” “Oh…no he is going to go up the back way here. He will turn onto Immokalee Road and you can switch to a north bound bus to bring you back this way” I started pulling the bell…..”I need to get off here!” I basically yelled. It would have taken me another hour and a half to two hours to get home.

I got off…and the bus drove away. Whew I thought to myself. I think I dodged a bullet there. I am off the bus. I am alive and in one piece. That’s when I looked down and realized I am in spa sandals. Not quite flip flops.  Hard plastic slides. Blisters just waiting to happen. My shoulders drooped, I looked down 41 and realized I had a really long walk in front of myself. Then I looked down at Tank and he was smiling up at me. He was just so happy to be off Bullock’s Bus.

We started our rather long walk. Tank was getting tired and hot, his paws I am sure were feeling a bit tender because my feet sure were! We did not pass any type of shop where we could buy a bottle of water, but off in the distance I did see Tank’s Vet’s office. Perfect.

We made our way there. I have never seen Tank so dang excited to go to the vet’s in my life! It must have been happy hour there because it was packed. I couldn’t wait in the line any longer…I sort of budded in just to ask for a bowl of water. I explained my long walk situation and they happily obliged. Tank was grateful and had a big drink. It was time to go. He thought we were stopping for a nap. I would have, if I could have  laid down on the bench. But it was full of patients. I had to pull him out of there.

 

We continued on our walk and finally got home. When i got in the house my phone was buzzing. It was Steve texting me that he was having a quick drink and would call me when he needed a ride home. HA!! He hadn’t even noticed that he had the keys still. 😂 I sent him the following emoji’s 😂 🔑 🤔 He immediately understood, reached into his front pocket and there they were.  Good heavens.

When something like this happens I try to sit back and think about what I have learned from it. What life lesson is in there.

When I first realized Steve had kept the keys you have know idea how I cursed him in my head. Of all the stupid f*** things how could he do this to me? I was building it up in my head getting more and more angry at him…that is until I realized I forgot my phone. There was this sudden realization that if he was stupid then so was I! I mean seriously, how could I leave my phone at home. Within minutes I forgave Steve. I had to because I had to forgive myself so that I could rationally figure out exactly what I was going to do next. I think that was my life lesson. I had no time or room in my head for bad thoughts and anger. I had to blow that shit up! I forgave Steve and I forgave myself. I had decisions to make. We all have ‘things’ that happen to us that are seemingly out of our control. If we lay blame on others, allow anger to over power us, it grows in our heads. It becomes so big and powerful that it is impossible to make the necessary decisions to move forward in a productive way. Our energy flows, where our attention goes.  If we want to change the results of something  in our life, we need to change where we are putting our attention.

I also learned that I need to be more prepared. 😆 Wasn’t that the Girl Guide motto I learned as a child? I rely on my phone for everything. Do you? Think about it…Need food delivery? Use the Instacard app. A ride? Uber. Want to listen to a book? Audible. Want to call or text a friend? Type in their name and their number is magically there. How many numbers do you actually have memorized? I have a couple. 😂 they happen to be my kids…and they live in freaking Canada! How can they help me down here? This is what I am going to do. Listen up…because to be honest I think we ALL should do this. I am going to write some key phone numbers down on a slip of paper and keep them in my wallet. If ever I find myself without my phone at least I can borrow one and actually have someone to call. If I could have used a phone that day at a store…I had absolutely nobody that I could have phoned.

Now after reading all of this I am sure you are thinking I must have 🎶 walked 500 miles 🎶 to my house. I didn’t. I was 6.9 Km or 4.2 miles away from home😂 Not a huge distance, but distance enough that it was going to be a hike that I was not prepared for. No phone, no proper shoes, no water for Tank.

Once home and after a quick bite to eat, the ladies next door were kind enough to drive us back to the mall and pick up the car. All was right again in this savvy snowbird’s life. It was time for me to put my feet up and have a drink.

Shit….I’m doing dry January🤯