Today Is (Not) a Bad Day
Or how to end a crappy day on a high note
I never used to carry a small men’s bag.
I bought one recently.
It was convenient.
My wife always asked me to carry my documents with me.
I didn’t like the idea.
I was always afraid of losing them or having them stolen along with the bag.
- What happens is always what you least expect.
We got caught in a downpour.
I hadn’t yet gotten used to the idea that I was carrying a bag.
With documents.
I used to always carry a briefcase, on my back.
It’s large, and it’s very difficult to flood the contents, even in a downpour.
But now it was no longer a briefcase.
Which I had blissfully forgotten about.
Carrying an umbrella in one hand and my new little bag casually in the other.
I didn’t even remember the documents.
The mistake.
The next day we went for a walk again.
My wife casually mentioned that her passport, which was in her purse that she had carried under her arm yesterday, got a bit wet.
Then the thought of my documents flashed through my mind.
I frantically open my bag and with horror, see a mess of soaked documents. Passport. Residence permit.
Soft pages, blurred stamps.
The old me would have exploded instantly.
Now I just sarcastically remarked:
“Hmm. It seems my previous approach was more reliable.”
But, of course, my mood was significantly soured.
Stupid bag…I thought.
We were planning to go to a restaurant.
To enjoy our favorite gnocchi.
For the old me, this would have been a great reason to either cancel everything or remain silent at least until the end of the day.
After all, SHE bought me this bag.
It was HER idea to put the documents in there.
That’s what my inner child was screaming in my head for the first 15 minutes.
Then the voice of reason returned home.
- “You write a blog about relationships,” it whispered.
- “A slightly unusual case — and you’re ready to bail?”
- “You could have remembered that you had your documents with you, buddy.”
- “Forgetting about the most important documents…are you even an adult?”
- “You forgot — and here’s the result.”
- “You could have simply tucked the bag under your arm. You had an umbrella.”
- “There are a million ways you could have damaged or soaked them even without this incident.”
- “Nothing fatal happened — you’re healthy, she’s healthy, documents can be replaced.”
- “Do you think she doesn’t feel guilty? Possibly even worse than you.”
All these thoughts rolled through my mind one after the other.
The annoyance began to recede.
Realizing own responsibility can be unpleasant, but it helps bring a sense of relief.
Meanwhile, we kept walking to the restaurant.
Here, a cat amusingly sits in the wind.
People around talk about their own things.
It’s green all around.
Fresh. Nice.
In the restaurant, another unpleasant surprise awaited us.
- They removed our favorite gnocchi from the menu.
- They ruined a great carpaccio.
- The dish we ordered instead was “not very good.”
It seemed like fate was testing us.
Again, a downpour.
We call a taxi.
The taxi stops too far from the curb.
Lots of water.
If I step in, it’ll completely soak my feet.
The driver irritably declares through the open window that he can’t stand too long, otherwise he’ll be fined.
Although we approached him immediately.
I try to explain to him to move closer.
He doesn’t hear.
My wife, on a high sole, gets into the car and asks him to move closer.
He moved half a meter closer.
Okay. Looks like a distance for a wide step.
A stream of water a meter wide roars between me and the car.
I extend my leg, slip, and fall into this mess.
In my head.
These thoughts raced through.
I’m a nervous person, what can I do.
A half-jump into the car, and I’m almost dry inside.
We reach our destination.
The driver rates us 1 star.
What’s wrong with you, buddy?
What do you think our mood was at the end of the day?
Better than good, I tell you!
How so? Because it’s OUR choice.
I won’t let anyone ruin OUR day. OUR time.
To hell with it, guys, they won’t succeed!
Thank you for reading!
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