Road Rage

I used to be an angry driver.  I would get mad at people when they did dumb things as they were driving.  I'd exclaim, as someone pulled in front of me unexpectedly, "Oh my goodness!  Would you use your brain when you're driving?" or some such silliness.  

Eventually I realized that they can't hear me.  (Ya...  That took a little longer than it should have.)  And all my yelling did was make me more upset.  So I've tried to stop that.  Now I just take a deep breath and smile when someone cuts me off.  If I'm especially saintly that day, I'll pray for them to have a good day.

Tonight, I backed out of my Walmart parking spot.  (There are so many things wrong with that statement.  I didn't pull through the spot like I usually do because I didn't want either of the car doors in that tight spot to bang my van. And I was lazy enough to pull in instead of backing in...  I nearly always back in.  It's easier in the long run. And Walmart?  Really, Wanda. Really?  Yes, I tried other stores but they didn't have Sour Skittles, and I needed Sour Skittles.  And WALMART didn't even have them!  But I digress.)

So tonight I backed out of my Walmart parking spot.  As always, I double-checked for traffic before I started, and then I backed up slowly, just in case someone was coming that I couldn't yet see.  I'd moved maybe two feet out when a car came screaming around the corner of that lane in the lot.  The driver leaned into his horn to express his displeasure at my occupying the space into which he was about to careen.  I braked.  He went by.  Another car went by.  The latter car sat behind my van waiting for the first car to turn out of our lane.  Eventually I resumed my departure from the spot.

I briefly felt my blood pressure rise... and then the next track came on in my van's stereo.  And I had to smile and get over it.  Because you can't help but smile when Ecce Gratum from "Carmina Burana" comes on.

And all was right in my world again.