Being Thankful…Even in Tough Situations

Today I am thankful for the police force keeping our streets safe.  

Unfortunately, I was the one being unsafe on the interstate…speeding to church.

The irony is not lost on me, friends.   

It’s so silly…I was blow drying my hair, which I never do.  And my hair takes FOR-E-VER to blow dry…but it was cold outside and didn’t want to leave the house with wet hair.  Then I was trying to prove to Dave that I could still make it to church on time.  Nice, Amanda.  Way to be stubborn.

Of course on the way I started speeding like a crazy person, then realized I wasn’t being safe and slowed down.  Right in time, I thought, since there was a police car sitting on the side of the road.  False.

I saw the police officer pull out and my heart caught in my throat.  I checked my speed repeatedly and tried to remember what the speed limit was on that street.  60?  65?

As I was still slowing down below what I thought was the speed limit…the lights came on.  And not in a good way.  Turns out…all the debating did me no good.  An officer had clocked me before when I was driving like a mad woman.  Does anyone else think that’s cheating?

I’m not one of those people that tries to get out of tickets…I can barely utter more than “hello” because I’m usually so ashamed that I did something wrong.  I did manage to mention the fact that I was sorry and I was on my way to church, but all that did was get him to say, “Yeah I’ve been catching a lot of people heading to church this morning.”  Dangit.  I guess Church-goers are human, too!

I was proud of the couple of words I was able to get out, but as I sat in my car I thought, I do deserve this ticket.  I shouldn’t have been driving that fast.  And think about all of the times when I have been in a rush and have driven over the speed limit and haven’t been caught.  Whether I get off with a warning or not, I need to work on this area of my life.

The officer came back and I held my breath and avoided his eyes.  All I could see was a slip of paper and a pen.  Dangit.  It was a ticket.  Approximately the size of my car payment.

I was shaking as I signed the ticket and listened to the officer explain the ticket and my options.  Then I ended up heading to a nearby parking lot to chill out and collect my thoughts.  Of course I kept thinking I should have told him I didn’t know the speed limit there or that I did in fact slow down when I realized I was driving too fast, but it was too late.  It is too late.  What’s done is done.

It was really bad, but I think I needed that smack in the face to tell me I need to stop trying to make up for being late by speeding.

I got a nasty ticket but I can take an 8 hour class that will erase it off my record.  It’s an expensive class, but at least I won’t have to sell my kidney to pay for a higher car insurance rate.

Source

So I say again, I am thankful for those police officers.  They are out there to protect us, even when we feel like they are just picking on us and that the ticket we received was unfair.

I was, after all, the one speeding.

This is why it’s a 30 Days of Thanks Challenge.  It’s not always easy to be thankful, but I need to force myself to see the good in every day situations.  Won’t you join me?  It’s never too late!

Join me on Twitter by tweeting me @SemiHealthNut and using the hashtag #30daysofthanks, comment on my Facebook, comment on the last 30 Days of Thanks post, link up there, or even e-mail me at semihealthnut AT yahoo.com.

Have a good, safe evening friends!

Have you ever been pulled over?  Did you feel like it was unfair?

What is one thing that has been bothering you lately?  Can you find something in that situation to be thankful about?