Crying on the Side of the Road

Last week, I filled the gas tank of my sister’s car with premium gas, only to remember about a mile later that it takes diesel fuel. I “remembered” when the car stopped running and I had to pull over on the side of a highway on-ramp. 

Oh my. 

My phone was on 8% which left me with just enough power to call a tow truck and my sister to rescue us. The tow truck driver was very helpful, telling me as he prepped the car for towing “This thing’s probably going to need an entirely new transmission. Putting regular gas in a diesel ruins the engine forever.” He said more, even cited some examples, but I blocked all of that so as to not have a heart attack on the spot. 

OH MY. 

So there I am, on the side of a highway on-ramp with my 2 kids and our belongings. It had been a rough day already, including a visit to urgent care to see if my daughter had a broken arm (she didn’t, but the arm was less concerning than the potential for germs in the urgent care!). 

I sat down in the grass and put my head down and cried for a minute. My kids came over to hug me and I thought about what to do. 

Gratitude! That’s what we needed. So I asked my kids to help me come up with 3 things we were grateful for at that moment. 

“That the weather is nice! It could be raining or cold or hot. It’s perfect.” 

“Five people have stopped to ask us if we need help, people are really nice.” 

“We have snacks!” 

“Aunt Nat and her friend are on the way to get us.” 

“We’re lucky to have technology so we could call people.” 

“That we’re all together.” 

As simple as it sounds, gratitude really can change everything. Give it a try next time you ruin your sister’s car. 

PS: Tow truck guy was wrong, the car is fixed and all is well. It was a costly mistake, but at least did not require a “whole new engine”!

PPS: If you’re feeling anxious or stressed right now, set up a free hour of 1 on 1 coaching with me.