Like Words Together Reflections from the deep end of Practice.

Safe Choices

Today CK and I attempted a long, hard drive home from Sacramento. This is a drive we've done in one day before, but we'd stayed up late last night and we were enjoying the company of her Mom and step-dad this morning, which meant we got a late start. CK's stomach was really bothering her, probably a delay from the weekly antibiotics she's been taking for her suppressed immune system stuff.

We'd driven her "new" car down. While I had learned to drive it, a manual transmission, with relative ease, it wasn't something I felt confident in yet. We started to get rain and the car handles far, far differently in the mountain curves than my trusty Suburu, so CK resumed driving.

Then we passed the remainder of a really very bad accident, a smashed car resting on the roof, on a winding, mountain road.

We reached out to friends to take care of our cats tonight, found a good hotel room where Dora is welcome, and stopped for the night. I've sent a message on to work. We'll get up in the morning, reasonably early, but well rested, drive home and work from home tomorrow.

I was so profoundly relieved when we made this decision, that we have this tremendous luxury of being able to make this safe choice, that I realized that I wasn't beating myself up too much. The relief and gratitude are just so big that the thoughts that I should have practiced more with the new car or planned better are pretty quiet.

Really, I'm just grateful to be in a warm, safe, nice place with my wife and our dog. I know our kitties have been well looked after. I even got to sit in the hot tub we didn't know we'd have access to.

Sunset - Grants Pass, Oregon - April 13, 2012

Gratitude Wins

Above any
Nagging
Voice that
Says I
Should have
Done or said
Anything
Different or
Better.

There is
The awesome
Luxury of choosing
Caring for the self
Which
Offers a relief
That makes me
Giddy with gratitude.