Today if you are anywhere near the Mid-Atlantic East Coast you may be aware that there is a rather large storm system hanging around the area. If you were anywhere near Conestoga Nursery around 4:30, you also know that I loaded up a truck and trailer with trees, shrubs, and mulch for a delivery to Chester Springs, about 40 minutes down the line towards Philly. If you had knowledge of both of those situations, you can guess where this post is going (of course you could just read the title).
About 5:30 I arrived at my destination; the storm decided to arrive at that time as well. I hurriedly unloaded the four trees off the back of my trailer and proceeded to dump half of the mulch from the trailer into a flower bed. Unfortunately, the trailer battery is not always reliable, and of course this was a situation in which it got the trailer only about a quarter of the way up. Fortunately there were jumper cables handy for just such a situation (in fact, that is almost their sole purpose; I have used them many a time. My boss needs to get that battery fixed.). It is quite an exhilarating experience to jump a battery in driving rain, though I would not necessarily recommend it to anyone.
At that point, the lightning was close enough and the rain coming hard enough, that my "customer" (for lack of a better word) insisted that we head into his garage to wait it out. I obliged, and we watched it rain. His wife offered me a Coke. I drank it. We watched it rain. He explained where he wanted the rest of the plants. We watched it rain. We discussed the spacing of plants. We watched it rain.
At this point, the rain began to lessen slightly, but the lightning was still close. I noticed a spot of blue sky in the distance and pointed it out. "We should be good in about 15 minutes," I said.
"You're an optimist, I suppose," the customer replied (he was most definitely not based on our previous conversation).
"It keeps the blood pressure lower," I joked in response.
Sure enough, in about fifteen minutes the rain stopped almost completely although the sky was still overcast. I hurriedly placed the rest of his plants, dumped the rest of his mulch, and vamoosed for home.
On my way home, I pondered our little exchange and the entire experience. Quite often I am indeed an optimist about such situations, but sometimes I am in a mood and grumble and complain (too often, probably). I considered this particular situation, and several things came to mind. Had I arrived at the nursery any earlier, I would have most likely been back on the turnpike when the storm hit. Anyone who knows anything about driving on a highway during a thunderstorm understands that is a dangerous situation. Thus, since I could do nothing about the timing or occurrence of the rain, the circumstances of my arrival were actually quite ideal. Also, had I been pessimistic about the disappearance of the rain, the forty-five minutes spent in the customer's garage would have been much less pleasant. Thus, by keeping a positive attitude, I decreased my consternation and increased my perspective on the entire situation. And I kept my blood pressure lower.
The moral of the story to all (and to me as well) is that an optimistic perspective in the face of unforeseen or otherwise annoying circumstances greatly decreases the amount of misery stemming from the situation. I hope I remember my own words the next time I face a similar situation. It would certainly help my blood pressure.
~ Socrates
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