I have the luxury of not having to punch a time clock at work. As long as I keep within reasonable limits and get all my work done, no one says much about when I come in or leave. Which means that while I always have good intentions of getting in by 9 a.m., I’m usually walking in the door at 9:30. 🙂
This morning at 8:10 a.m. I was being somewhat leisurely about my morning routine. I’d taken a shower, but hadn’t decided what to wear yet. I hadn’t eaten breakfast nor had I made lunch. I hadn’t dried my hair. Since work is about a 25 minute drive, at that pace I was headed for a 9:30 arrival.
At 8:12 a.m., I opened up my calendar to see if I had any appointments scheduled for the day and –
OH. MY. GOD!!!!! I’M SUPPOSED TO BE AT AN EVENT TAKING PICTURES AND DOING INTERVIEWS AT 8:30!!!!!!!!!!!!
Um…8:12 a.m. 25 minute drive. Not dressed. No food. Totally not going to happen.
I moved faster than I’ve moved in a long time – I threw on the first clothes I could find, pointed the hair dryer in the general direction of my hair for a few seconds, grabbed some food out of the fridge and was on my way to my car at 8:16 a.m.
My assignment was to take pictures of some kids from New York boarding a bus to go back home. Their host families would gather in the parking lot at at 8:30 and the bus was scheduled to leave at 8:45.
I started praying in the car. “Please get me there on time!!”
Then I realized that “on time” would have been 8:30 and that was a total impossibility. However, 8:40 was a possibility if I went 70 and didn’t hit any highway construction.
What I really wanted was for the bus to be delayed for 10 minutes so I’d have a little wiggle room before they left.
So I started praying, “Please delay the bus!!”
But I didn’t like the possible implications of that prayer – what if it was fulfilled by causing an equipment failure that could inconvenience or even endanger everyone involved?
So I changed my prayer to, “Please just get me there before the bus leaves!!”
Finally I got tired of all the crazy twisty-turny-trying-to-get-it-perfect machinations of my brain and prayed for something I’ve never asked for before:
“Please just send me a miracle!!!!” 🙂
As it turned out, I got there just as the bus was about to pull away. It wasn’t perfect, but it was workable. I was able to talk to some of the host families so I could write the article. Neither the picture nor the article will be submitted for a Pulitzer, but I’m guessing I’ll still have a job when I go in tomorrow. 🙂
And thus endeth the quest for perfection for another day.
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Image found here.
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