There is a certain feeling involved when seeing the lights flick on. I'm not speaking 'enlightenment' here. I'm talking the po-po, the cops, the police. In this case, the Sheriff... The first thing you do is question 'uh oh, are those for ME?' then you look at the speedo to see if you are speeding. Then your mind races, 'did I forget to signal?' 'did I cut someone off?'
Well, today as I went from a 45 zone, onto a 25 zone rural dirt road and I knew I was going a bit fast. School was starting in just one minute and I had about 3 minutes to go. I did not want my daughter late for school.
Not 15 feet onto the road, I saw a police car coming the other direction towards me. Instinct led me to lift my foot off the gas and pumped the brake (the trick they say messes with radar). I said 'oh crap' (something else but for blogging sake I'll keep it PG-13) and then, as you all know that moment of...
"he's going to pass, he's going to pass, he's going to pass.."
...runs through my head at warp speed hoping my foot-off-gas-break-pump did the trick. Then there it was 'wooot' and the reds and blues were swirling. Once again 'oh crap' (edited). I did not question why the lights were ignited. I was speeding, flying, the dust behind me was proof alone!
At that moment what was running through my head was "MAN I'm in my jammies, slippers and bathrobe..." (a work at home Mom can do these things) Then "EEK, my driver's license is in my purse, on the couch table, at home...." then "I don't know my driver's license number (well heck, here in Nevada they are about the length of a credit card #) THEN "oh I SO don't want to pay a ticket and have my auto insurance go UP." then "EWW traffic school...no, no, no..." then my daughter chimes in "MOMMY I DON'T WANT TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL." Amazing how all those things can happen in the exact same instant!
So I pull over, expecting to see him make a U-turn and appear behind me in the mirror. I was a bit surprised to see him backing up to align his window with with my window. I checked my rear view mirror to look at my self right quick, EEK, no chance the cuteness card was going to work this morning!He rolled down his window, I did the same, and he used the universal sign; arm out, palm down, with a slight up and down motion. He said "sloooooow dowwwwwwn" then he proceeded to say "I have you on radar doing 40" (note to self the pumping brake trick does not work...)
But he smiled, probably because he saw me in my jammies, bathrobe and bed head. Also probably because he saw the panicked look on my daughter's face and he knew I was on my way to the school... He simply said "don't do it again, or I'll get you"! I told him that I promised, and I meant it. I even told my daughter we'll leave earlier every morning to ensure Mommy is not tempted to put the pedal to the metal!
So I got the kidlet to school, safe and sound, just in time for her to join the classes walking in. Perfect! On my way home I reflected a bit. As I firmly believe there are no coincidences and wanted to find the meaning of the lesson in this morning's experience.
What I feel this happend for was to tell me to 'slow down a bit'. I tend to go, gO, GO. I'm a 'get'er done' type of person and sometimes doing this is counter productive and one ends up to have gone a full circle right back to where they began.
When we slow down a bit, there is no dust on the dirt road, you can actually roll down the windows and enjoy the ride. You can see the scenery, and enjoy the peace.
So next time you are 'in a rush' take a moment to reflect upon my experience, feel the stress of the blue and reds flashing, then bring yourself into the 'now'. It's not worth the risk to rush!
Alethea Anderson
A Work @ Home Mom
Coach and Team Leader
