Went for a lovely hike with my cousin to Rattlesnake Ledge outside of Seattle, Washington today. Returned ready for lunch at the nearby cafe to find my car window has been smashed in. Was the first time that’s ever happened to me and I was a little shaken by it. I think in part because it was the middle of the day…in a busy park…which just reminds you that you never know. And, in part because I’d spent 8 of the prior 10 days sleeping in my car at campsites solo.
But alas, was one of those moments where breaking down or focusing on the negative is nothing but a waste of energy. So, with my cousin’s help, I started dealing with it. We started cleaning up the glass. Then she drove down the road to call the local police to see what the best course of action was and whether we needed to wait there with the car.
While she was doing that, I continued to clean-up the glass. My mind started to go down an irrational “wtf, am I doing on this road trip,” “this is a bad sign,” “I wish I had a boyfriend or husband I could call,” (not proud of it, but that was a thought) road. There was also a background unhealthy dose of self-blame that I could feel starting to creep in…“I shouldn’t have left my cross body bag visible…”
BUT, I caught this train of thought and said “nah, eff that shiiiz,” and instead started thinking about the positive aspects of the situation. Yeah, thinking about the positive doesn’t change the fact that I’m now missing a driver’s side window, but thinking about the negative doesn’t fix the window either. So, I’d rather train my brain to focus on the positive so that one day, THAT will be the thought pattern that comes naturally.
The following are ten positives of today’s whole car-window-got-smashed-in situation.
1. I wasn’t alone. My cousin was with me.
2. I wasn’t sleeping in the car when it happened.
3. Nothing was stolen.
4. Got to see how safety glass works.
5. The glass was pretty.
6. Mexican blankets solve everything. Covered the seat with mine to protect my a$$ from any glass pieces that didn’t get swept up.
7. Learned how to build a “window,” out of packing tape.
8. For every a-hole that breaks a window, there are a lot of non-a-holes that offer kind words like “That sucks,” “I’m sorry,” and “I’ve been there,” and who offer cardboard because they clearly are not sure what else to do.
9. It’s just a property crime, not a person crime.
10. I have friends and family that care and that I can vent to.
...but still whoever did it, you’re a jerk!
Something is missing here… That’s where I sit to drive, great My cousin helping me clean up the glass. Shitty but pretty. Making a packing tape window, thanks for the idea Google. All you can do is laugh at this point Powerful stuff. Rained and no leakage. Repairs at McDonald’s after a window blow out en route to Idaho. Happy ending…my car after getting a new window in Couer D’Alene, Idaho!
