Build a bridge...

...and get over it!

To quote the great Alison Ford...

Sometimes it's not always easy to take my own advice.

My anxiety level is usually extremely low...to the point people may think I'm in a coma. ;-) I don't stress easy, and like I say, I try to take things in stride, but once in a great while, I find myself feeling anxious, and I try to move past it.

When I got the call about my passport, letting me know the trip was on, I felt a bit anxious. I packed, and that made me feel much better, and I decided to go to the movies so my mind could veg out, and that helped a lot. I was feeling *completely* fine.

After the movies, I checked my voicemail, and I had a message that the water level was getting low fast, and that I should probably tie my boat to the end of the dock so it doesn't get stuck in the mud when the water goes down. I don't need a broken boat that I can't even tow out of the water!

When we got to the house, I decided that even though it was dark out, I wanted to fix the boat situation, so that it wasn't another thing on my mind when I was trying to fall asleep tonight. It was already stuck a little bit, and Darcy told me to just give up, but I was pretty sure I could get it free. I gave her my keys and my phone so they would be safe while I was hanging over the water.

She was on the end of the dock, and I thought once I got the boat free, she could grab it and tie it to the end of the dock. Apparently, she isn't a mind reader, so by the time I rocked the boat free and stood up from laying on the ground, it was floating away. I yelled at her to grab it, and she made an attempt, but wasn't able to reach it. She did, however, drop my keys in the water in the process.

I took my jeans off and ran into the water and got the boat that was swiftly floating away. I was almost up to my neck in the water...just hoping I wasn't looking appealing to any leaches that may come out at night. Ew!!

I didn't bother trying to get the keys, because I knew the alarm would have already been broken, and I just wanted to get out of the water. I was aggravated with Darcy, and I probably wasn't as nice as I should have been after this sequence of events. Okay, let's make that definitely. ;-)

I was so mad thinking about how I have just one day to run the errands I have to run to get ready for my trip, and now I'm locked out of my car. Also, the keys for BMWs are ridiculously expensive, so it was going to be another $200 - $300 I'd have to pay to replace the alarm thing.

I know I was only mad because my anxiety level was higher than usual, and I was frustrated with myself that I wasn't getting over it immediately. I kept thinking to myself that I pay lip service to choosing joy, and I'm usually successful, so why couldn't I just choose joy in this situation?

I made a conscious decision to find the good in the situation. My back car window is broken, so I know I can push it down and unlock one of the doors to get into the glove box where I have a spare key, so thankfully, due to my broken window, I wouldn't be stranded. Also, after all the calamity, we were able to push the boat out, and it was going to be fine. I reminded myself that I'm lucky to have friends who look out for me, or I wouldn't have known to check on the boat in the first place. Lastly, if this is going to make a very funny story one day...and as soon as I realized that, I calmed down immediately. My whole demeanor changed, and I was fine.

That whole process of mad to calm and amused took me about 4 or 5 minutes - much longer than usual, but I think I'm overtired on top of the other factors. Either way, I'm once again reminded that joy is a choice. It really is.

PS - Darcy ended up finding the keys, and she got them out of the water. By some miracle, the alarm thing is working. I hope that doesn't change by the morning if there is water trapped inside, but fingers are crossed.

PPS - Soooorry, Darcy! XO