Captains log April 9, 2020 Corona Day #30

Captains log April 9, 2020

Corona Day #30

I was cut off in the Starbucks drive-thru line today.
Like big-time. There is a system to avoid a traffic back up, I was following the system, guy in the jacked-up Ford was not.

Here is what crossed my mind as my heartbeat rose, my adrenaline surged and the 23 Psalms came rolling out of my mouth...

It is beautiful out, we have the sunroof open. “I want to know what love is” by Foreigner is playing. I am with my healthy kids. I am actually taking 20 minutes to wait in line for an overpriced coffee that is completely non-essential. We are employed. I am not in a rush. Amber… LET IT GO.

My girl sitting next to me in the passenger seat did not agree with my take on this. In between her attempts to crawl out of the sunroof to avenge our spot we talked about grace. We talked about how it was possible that the guy never even saw me, that maybe he has a sick person at home. Maybe he has lost his job, maybe he reads Q-ANON blogs and thinks the cannibals are coming for us or maybe he just is a jerk.

We make our way up to the window and I hold up my phone to pay, the cashier says, “The guy in front of you paid for your drinks, he said he is sorry for cutting you off.”

Now, I’m not telling you this story to toot my own horn, because let's be honest here, Isabelle has more learned traits from her Mother than I would care to admit.

I’m telling you this because right now I feel like we are all sorta like that guy in the jacked-up pickup. Stressed, not our best selves, judgmental, angry and mostly really really scared. Maybe I don’t even realize the damage I’m doing to others until I look in my rearview mirror and see the raging blonde behind me.

So today, on our 30th day of quarantine I’m grateful to the guy that cut me off. My kids and I were reminded how important it is to own up to our mistakes in humility and more importantly how to be gracious towards those who make them because we all sure could a little bit more of that right now.