JacarandaMay13In early May, on a rainy Monday morning, my husband was in a car accident. No one was hurt, thank God; shaken, yes, but otherwise fine. However, our car was a total loss.

On that day, I needed to get from the Westside to the Valley, then Silverlake, then the Palisades. And now we had no car.

My first impulse was to cancel everything for the day – and I did cancel the Valley. Then some temporary fixes presented themselves. A “Tap” card could be purchased – the first step in buying a day pass on the LA Metro system. I gathered information on routes and schedules: I wasn’t a stranger to LA public transportation, just out of practice. Getting around required planning and patience; I admit I didn’t always measure up that week. I never missed a connection but I fumed over late arrivals and poorly marked “alternate stops” on detour routes. I’d have an emotional meltdown once I got home because what had been a 10-minute jaunt was now a 45-minute ordeal.

But what miracles we’ve both experienced over these past few weeks in the outpouring of love, generosity and support from our community. Friends have come forward offering rides and lending us their cars. And what a difference that’s made. Our normal routines could be re-established. How grateful I am every time I get behind the wheel of one of those borrowed cars – grateful that a friend’s trust allows me to carry on with my daily bits.

And so these are some of the lessons I’ve learned this month:

  • Be prepared. Stuff happens. You never know.
  • Approach life with a sense of adventure. You can be driving a Toyota Camry one week, a Mercedes E-350 the next and a Ford Taurus station wagon the next. Be open to the possibilities for life’s richness in each experience.
  • The bus will show up and you will get to where you need to be.
  • Life is meant to be lived in community with others. Love. Listen. Be a friend; give of yourself to others.
  • Be grateful.

Postscript

Now the insurance issues have been sorted out and we have cash in hand to buy a replacement car. We have our health and our sanity and each other.  Everything else is gravy. You agree?