IN March of 2015, I had lived in my present home for
eighteen years and ten months. This is when the City of Raleigh and I began a
procedure to put an audible signal light at a busy street near my home. I had
crossed this street uneventfully for those eighteen years and ten months, but
the newly erected Sheet’s on a near-by corner caused the intersection to become
dangerously heavy with traffic, especially since there is an arrow for a left
turn which would be illegal only if a driver didn’t pay any attention that
someone was crossing. The procedure should be completed in about one more
month, but I realized that not going over to the places I was familiar with
frequenting had caused me to become skittish when out in traffic at all. As one
story seems to melt into another one and another one, let me try to hit the
highlights.
Last week I ordered a special shampoo for Vivi at Pet’s
Mart. The girl told me it should be in last night. So, I decided right then and
there that this Wednesday morning I would cross that street just like I used to
without fear. My mind crossed it a hundred times with me tripping over the
median, a car blowing a horn being the last thing I ever heard, and seeing Vivi
disappear underneath a garbage truck or something. Still, I prepared myself as
best I could. At 6:30 AM I showered, took Vivi outside, fed her, and packed my
little canvas purse. After my devotion I decided to see what verse of the day
showed up on Bible Gateway. It was Psalm
121, verses 7-8. “The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your
soul. The Lord will guard your going out and coming in from this time forth and
forever.”
Now, you can see me flying out the door with a smile on my
face, right? Well, the truth is, it gave me the courage to walk out and lock
the door, deciding that if I got to that corner and was too frightened I would
just turn and go to McDonald’s for breakfast instead of Steak & Shake like
I had planned. I suppose that word “food” should have been up in the title as
those of you who know me know that any trip is probably going to involve food
sooner or later.
It was a beautiful morning’s walk, and by the time we got to
that crossing my fear was gone.
Breakfast at Steak & Shake was the fun part. It was such
a boost to realize I had conquered that fear if anything was burned or
undercooked I never noticed. I sat there listening to The Four Seasons singing,
“Big Girls don’t cry.” Am I a big girl yet
I wondered. I determined not to leave until I had heard something by
Elvis and the coffee kept on coming. I almost laughed out loud as Lesley Gore
sang “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” a little song about a girl being in love with a
fickled guy who can’t decide if he loves her or Judy. By the time Chuck Berry
started up “Johnny b Goode” it made me so happy I almost jumped up and started
doing the bop. It was my third cup of coffee. Thank goodness Elvis came on next
with “Don’t be Cruel” and I woke up Vivi who was asleep under the table. If she
had known our next stop was Pet’s Mart she’d never have gone to sleep. We
walked down the parking lot and inside the store. Can you imagine how I felt
when the girl told me … the shampoo didn’t come? I just purchased a bottle off
the shelf and believe Viv won’t be allergic to it; we’ll find out just as soon
as I finish this blog.
However, one more story? Last week I downloaded the Uber app
on my phone.
Since by this time, (10 AM) it was already 87 degrees, it
was too hot to put Vivi’s feet on the hot asphalt streets in our travel back home,
not to mention that I’m now considered “elderly?” Anyway, it was a good time to
try that new app. At first the ETA time was supposed to be 5 minutes, then the
next thing I knew it was 8, then 7 then 8 again? After a call to Christi I
decided to wait five more minutes; it had already been twenty. Finally the text
came that the driver was in route and ETA was 3 minutes. Sure enough, the
driver arrived, and apologized because he had had to go pick up his car first.
We were home in less than 7 minutes for sure, and the driver ended the trip
with “Have a blessed day.”
This whole long rambling story is just to let you know that
once doing something on a more independent basis, conquering a fear, realizing
what a blessed day really is, is much better than taking a tranquilizer or
drinking a glass of wine.
