Crash!

It had to happen sometime, I guess.
And today was the day.
I had my first car accident. Fortunately, it was minor. Unfortunately, it was completely my fault.
I have been reveling in the rainy weather we have been so desperately needing (trips to the ballpark aside- sorry Tony C.) and had loaded the kids into the car for a rainy day trip to the library. We were backing out of the driveway (which involves a very tight turn since the across the street neighbors park on the street to slow down passing traffic) and CRASH! right into the front fender of our neighbor's relatively new Jetta. My foot, wet from the rainy sidewalk, had slipped off the brake and since there is no room for any error (usually we need to back up inch-by-inch and make a very tight turn) my car smacked right into their car.
It took a few seconds to realize what happened. Once I did, I pulled back into the driveway and went right across the street to tell the neighbor. He was fairly mellow about it all, but I was and am still very upset. I suspect it's going to be a costly event.
Of course, it could have been much worse- I mean, a car is just property, and the girls and I are all fine. We were moving very slowly, and we were already home (I didn't have to drive after the crash!).
The lesson? Not sure yet. Wipe your feet before putting them on the pedals? Don't park where you can't back out with less than a 3 inch margin of error? When I figure out what I am to have learned from this experience, I will be sure to update this post. Until then, all I can say is ARRGH!!!

If you can't change your situation

It may sound odd, but I often think of my high school Spanish teacher. Not because I can habla some espanol. (Now don't get me wrong- he was a terrific teacher, but there was more to him than that.) He was deeply committed to making sure that his students fully appreciated their education. Nothing made him more furious than the many kids who were sour and disrespectful. It aggravated him that there were so many students who were squandering the opportunities that they had given (being raised in a well-to-do suburban community).

Unfortunately, he was doomed to continue to encounter them; our school had a language requirement, and so year after year his classroom was filled with students who were completely disinterested in learning what he was so passionate about! And so, as a response, he posted a sign in his classroom- the only thing written in English- which read "If you can't change your situation, you must change your attitude toward it."

I think of that phrase often as I "roll in the waves" of my life. (That's also stolen phrase- from another teacher- my college 18th century lit professor who told us that we needed to "Roll in the waves of Tristram Shandy"- but that's another blog entry.) Anyhow, those students who came into his class, bitter and unwilling, were faced everyday with that truism. And although it wasn't directed at me in that particular situation, I find it to be helpful here in the basket.