Bumps In the Road

Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. - John Lennon


My husband has been very proud of my acclimation to Canadian weather...so we decided to move to a more colder part of Ontario...because, you see, snow for just 6 months of the year was not enough.  So today, was the very first really cold day in our new home.  The thermostat read -18 degree Celsius ( for my American friends that is about 0 degree Fahrenheit).  My vehicle would not start due to the extreme cold...so at the last minute, in order to help me get to work on time, my husband unloaded our utility pick-up truck that was stacked high with wood.  Let me tell you, I was really feeling like I had given up my sun loving roots and embraced this new cold frontier.  Proudly I thought, "I don't need a hat.  I don't need gloves....look and even no thermal underwear.  I have arrived."  My husband (the experienced Canadian) looked at me as I walked toward the door and asked, "What are you doing?"  I smiled and said that I was fine and I didn't need a hat and gloves.  He took off his work gloves and handed them to me and said that  I would need them to open the front gate.  I took them politely and put them on the seat of the truck.  Again, still glowing to myself about my handling of the cold weather, I purposely did not put on the gloves when I got to our front gate.  I jumped out of the truck with a smile and reached for the gate...and...my hands stuck to the metal, just for a moment... I felt like I had frog hands ( OH!  I see, so, that's what the gloves were for).
A bit humbled by my experience, I then realized that the utility truck was near empty and I was 15-20 minutes to the nearest gas station...and even more late for work.  I began coasting down every hill I could hoping that my lack of hat would not end up biting me back even more.  I began to picture myself walking home down a very, long, hilly, cold, country road...and even more late for work.  Then in my near panic...I realized...at this point I could not change anything....just enjoy the ride...

So the beautiful moment I found today....is that sometimes the bumps in the road do make the ride more fun.  And life can hold surprising adventures when you least expect it.  I was quietly laughing at myself all day.