The universe has a funny way of reminding you who’s really in charge. One minute, you’re whistling along, latte in hand, ready to take over the day. The next, you’re dodging rogue pigeons and muttering obscenities at traffic lights.
This was not one of those whistling-latte kind of days.
It all started innocently enough. My morning toast landed butter-side down, a minor annoyance easily shrugged off. Right after, I realised my beautiful Ford Ecosport had a flat tyre, right when I was getting late for work. My go-to garage in Northampton would be out of my way to go to work, which meant I had to take the bus.
You’d think it ended here, but unfortunately, there’s more. Let me take you back to the beginning.
Murphy’s Law in Action
It was a regular Monday morning where I’d missed the alarm and overslept. I woke up, not a few minutes late, but a whole hour later than usual, catapulting me into a rushed process of getting ready for work. I said to myself, ‘You’re late, but it’s okay. You can still make it.”
But I was wrong, so wrong.
As I showered, got dressed and started packing my bag, I realised I couldn’t find my car keys! I rummaged through my bag, turning the whole house upside down. Funnily enough, after wasting another twenty minutes, I found them right on the couch.
While mentally processing how to make it to work on time, I rushed through my breakfast of toast and a smattering of butter while I loaded my travel mug with hot black coffee. Today was definitely not the day for a leisurely breakfast. But coffee is a MUST!
Two strikes, I thought this was it, and I could sail right into the client meeting I was having first thing in the morning. (How wrong I was!)
As I got to my car, I gave out a little shriek staring at my car’s flat tyre in disbelief! Third strike! It just had to happen today of all days!
Flat Tyre Woes
A humungous wave of frustration washed over me as I stared at my car’s flat front tyre. My anxiety and frustration gave way to a sea of thoughts, like ‘Why today of all days did I have to deal with a flat?’ which quickly escalated to ‘Why didn’t I get a maintenance check done sooner?‘ that snowballed to ‘Why I can’t stop spending money for trivial stuff?’
Before I could go into a full-blown panic attack, I calmed myself down to quickly check for a spare in the rear. It was there, but I didn’t know how to replace the flat. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes, thinking this was nothing but a bad dream and it would all go away once I opened my eyes. How I wish that was the case!
After cursing under my breath for a few moments, I resolved to handle this situation like a professional. I grabbed my phone and quickly searched online for a garage nearby, hoping to fix this problem that I was in. I scanned one of the top results and gave them a quick call.
The executive on the other end of the line informed me about their quick tyre replacement service and that they would take about fifteen minutes to reach me. I breathed a sigh of relief now that help was on the way.
Time for damage control. I waited for the car technicians to arrive while rescheduling my meeting, and felt so relieved when they finally arrived!
Help Is On The Way
The two car technicians wasted no time assessing the flat and confirmed my suspicions – the tyre was damaged beyond repair and needed immediate replacement.
They replaced the flat deftly with the spare in my car. Then, they asked me if I wanted to get the flat replaced. Since I had bought some time from my office meeting, I decided to go ahead and nip this problem in the bud once and for all. Now I couldn’t help but smile as I admired the replaced tyre.
I started the car, and the replacement tyre ran just as smoothly as it should. I followed the car technicians to their garage, where I was asked to wait. As I sat there, I felt grateful to the universe that help was around the corner today when I needed it the most and at the same time, I also wondered what kind of dent this repair put in my pocket.
At the garage, while I settled the charges for the replacement and the new tyre, I noticed that I wasn’t overcharged. This garage business believed in keeping replacement expenses to a minimum by sourcing cheap car parts without compromising on quality. Another wave of relief washed over me, and I smiled again as I thanked the team for the swift resolution of my car problem.
When I finally reached the office and I narrated the entire ordeal to my boss, I realised something was amiss.
I had forgotten all about my coffee!
