Penny Post #18: When Everything Goes Wrong

a tale of friday the thirteenth (technically the eleventh, but you get it)...

I was running late to work, so I pulled forward into the parking garage. I picked the closest space, abandoned the heap of cardboard in my trunk, and rushed through the front door.

My morning went as planned, despite an especially busy couple of hours at work. I clocked out at 12:01 and rushed back to the parking garage. I had 59 minutes to get to my car, make it across town to San Diego Gas & Electric, verify my identity to get electricity and gas in my new apartment this weekend, and return back to work. A tight timetable. But apparently not as tight as the parking spot I had mindlessly pulled into that morning…

As I pulled out, I heard concrete crush plastic and was horrified to find what the parking garage pole had made of my left rearview mirror:

Six years of no car incidents. One too-tight parking spot and one very distracted mind. Not only did I lose my rearview mirror, but I also lost my ability to have gas and electricity at least until Monday. Damn pole.

This is after a week of living out of my car. My temporary housing has ended and my permanent housing has not yet begun. Ruby (what I named my car after getting her in 2017) was my home. The cardboard boxes that I abandoned at the beginning of the day still sat stacked together in the back. They house my toothbrush, my pajamas, and about 6 mega rolls of Charmin Ultrasoft toilet paper (admitting what toilet paper I use feels less humiliating then admitting I wrecked my rearview mirror).

Ruby has been my home for the last week. I broke her. I broke my home. And in her brokenness, she proclaimed: “Don’t look back, Kiera. Only forward.” Crude, I know.

I’m unsure if I will be able to shower this weekend. Or wash my silverware. Or vacuum. But I do know that both homes - Ruby and my new apartment - need my attention. They are places where a distracted mind must not persist. They are sacred, most especially because they are the places that have and will house a needy, most-of-the-time distracted soul.

Friday the eleventh is a day when quite possibly everything went wrong. I certainly felt as if everything had gone wrong when I pulled out of my parking spot and heard that crunch. But in hindsight, I realize that not everything went wrong. Not everything that could’ve possibly gone wrong went wrong. In fact, somethings went right:

• An administrative team meeting that demonstrated the irreparable bond of my co-workers and what’s possible at True Life.

• A gentle walk to share coffee with new friends.

• Valued words from my supervisor, who affirmed all of my hard work.

• A teary call with my mom after aforementioned incident, who offered to drop everything and fly to be with me.

• An extremely caring boyfriend who had received the worst of me post-incident and proceeded to spend his hour of lunch searching for a 2017 Jeep Patriot rearview mirror in a junk yard.

Which he found and installed… TA DA!

There is still a minor dent and one or two scratches, but all is good because I’m safe and I’m right where I’m supposed to be: home.

That’s the story of my Friday the thirteenth (eleventh) when everything went wrong, yet somethings went right.

Until next time,

K