When It Rains, It Pours

I think the old adage “when it rains, it pours,” is true. There are times past I look back upon that seem uncommonly good. Times etched with stretches of bright weather, plentiful friends, and exciting events to anticipate. And then, everything falls apart sometimes too.

Lately I have felt the added stress of a new home, friends who aren’t really friends yet, and trying to buy a house, bearing down upon my shoulders. Shopping in a new grocery store takes longer and I always forget where to find toothpaste or Glade candle refills. The smoky apartment still has smoke which rises from the floorboards when our neighbors light up. Our car needed a new catalytic converter. Honda kept the car overnight and gave me a rental, promising all would be finished the next morning. The next morning (you know what’s coming, right?) I received a call saying FedEx had mistaken the order and it would be another day. Three days later, the car was done. I had to go to three different offices to get license plates and wait about one month for paperwork to go through. Even the State Farm insurance agent transfer did not go smoothly – the Jersey office faxed our information to the wrong number.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to list these events to whine. I’ve sucked it up for the most part and reminded myself many times that there is a bigger picture. I mean, I have a job, Dan, and Dan has a job, I have an amazing family, beautiful friends, Jesus. But don’t let anyone tell you that the little things don’t matter.

Tonight I went to BlockBuster to rent a movie. And I watched as the guy dropped my brand-new, 7 hours of lines and waiting to get, driver’s license into the small cracks of the immovable counter. He then proceeded to stammer “oh no….ohhhh nooo….oh geese….oh man.” and I said, “Uh, I need that back,” like the smart, captain obvious that I am.

I don’t really know whether I will get my license back before my meeting with the credit union tomorrow. And I don’t know whether the manager of BlockBuster will call me tonight. I am still holding out secret hopes that I will get free movies for life. And my umbrella is still packed away in a box somewhere.