Let's use today as an example.
I completed my appointment at the World's Largest Medical Center and made my way to my car. Earlier this morning, I parked on the 6th floor - toward the top of the parking structure. At 8:30 am, I had my pick of spaces and there weren't a lot of cars on that floor. By 10:00 am, the place was jam-packed. As I approached my space, I realized I had a problem. Although my car was easily between MY two yellow lines, a big ol' red extended cab pickup was parked just inches (maybe 2? maybe 3?) from my driver's side. He was angled over the line and into my space. A sedan was on the passenger side, also over the line and into my space.
Well, shit.
I took a minute to assess the situation and, happily, looked up to see a security vehicle making the rounds. I flagged the officer who got out and he immediately started shaking his head. "Yeah, that's not good."
I had to laugh at the way he summed it up. He called the Texas Medical Center police switchboard who said the Parking Department would have to handle it. He jotted down a phone number for me and went on his way.
Again. Shit.
I tried to call the parking department but the number I was given wasn't in service.
Big breath. Oh, look! Here comes a TMC police cruiser. The police officer stops, gets out of his vehicle and asks me if I'm a good driver. Hell, yeah. I'm a good driver! I told him I used to drive an ambulance in Kansas - sometimes in the snow. "Great! You can do this!"
Let's talk functional fitness here. And heart rate control. And following direction. And trust. And teamwork.
We folded up the mirrors of my car and the car to my right. That left a sliver for me to eek through but I had to do a squatting/limbo kind of move to even enter and THEN I had to balance on my right foot while I wiggled my way in to get a foothold on the floor of the passenger side. Once there, I only had to crawl over the console to get into the driver's seat. Whew!
I was kind of wound up by then. I needed to be calm and listen.
Windows down so I could hear instructions. Deep breath. Concentrate.
Inch by inch, we worked together to get the damned thing out of that parking spot. He gave me corrections, I made them. When I finally got clear (without a scratch to any of the cars), we cheered together.
This entire episode literally mirrors my White Board and WOD experience every time I go to the gym. Gather information, pay attention to the details, trust in the coach, listen and make adjustments as needed, celebrate achievement.
Seriously, celebrate your damned achievements! Life is too challenging and too full of possible disappointments not to cheer when you can.
