But let's back up to Memorial Day of this year. That's right, we attended the Northwest Folklife Festival. We hurried over to downtown Seattle... (P.S. Dan just expelled bodily airborne fumes from his digestive tract toward my face and said, "it's a love token..." I will deal with him later.) Anyway, so we hurried to DT Seattle, pulled into street parking and saw this:Hmmm, only 2 hours? We wanted to stay for longer so we pulled off the street and into a parking lot. We had just paid the $10 when we saw a street parker approach the meter, read it entirely and exclaim, "Hey it's free on holidays!"
Ahhhh! For some reason I was angry. Robbed! I was robbed! I wanted my $10 back. For $10, I could buy a meal or a shirt or, OR, OR! Dan was calm. He wouldn't let it ruin our fun, so I eventually let it go, occasionally kicking myself for not reading the instructions.
THEN! On Monday, July 5th, we went Downtown to join all of our vacationers at the Pacific Science Center. It was Dan's turn to pay, and he did: $5 for 2 hours. Gee, too bad the 4th of July holiday was the day before, because we all know that parking is free on holidays. After he paid, he curiously read the instructions again. Turns out, if a holiday lands on Sunday, then Monday parking is free. Oh joy.... FIVE BUCKS GONE AGAIN! ROBBED AGAIN! Dan, the calm one said, "Let's think of it as a donation to the city." Way to be an optimist. So I calmed down again and tried to not let it bug me.
Today was the final straw. I went to Seattle in a rush. I paid for the ticket without reading the instructions (but I pretty much thought I got the whole payment plan down), got my sticker, stuck it on the driver's side window, and met Cindy (who I really like and too bad she lives so far away) to Ride the Duck of Seattle. (which by the way is a great way to see the city sights if you are a tourist).
As I returned to the car, there on the dash I got a PARKING TICKET. Why? Because I put my sticker on the driver-side-window when I should have put it on the passenger-side-window. AHHH! ROBBED AGAIN! I was so angry. A $24 dollar ticket? Angry me again!
However, as I was driving home I pondered a lot about the idea of READING THE INSTRUCTIONS. If I had done so, I wouldn't have lost money those three times! I then thought about Him and His instructions. We can avoid much unnecessary grief if we just read and follow His instructions. The experience reminded me about my priorities in the hustle and bustle of life.
5 comments:
Good grief!
I don't know if I have to cry or laugh!
It happen to me too in Pasadena.
It was too confusing to read all that signs so I decided park near super market to avoid all that nonsense!
love the blog facelift! so cute and yes... that always bugs me. i think we just have to learn to take time.... take time to follow those instructions which we might have to read. kinda like taking time to read the scriptures even when we think we're too busy.... eh?!
wow. I probably would have wanted to kick something...which then I would have broke my foot and landed myself in the E.R. with a $200 medical bill. Nice. Anyway, good for you and Dan for remaining calm and learning from these three experiences. And thanks for reminding us all to take time to read the instructions...I LIKE the new blog look too. :)
p.s. I can smell Dan from here! haha!
Me gustan tus parábolas modernas...MUCHO.
Such a funny story!! It's like they are counting on people to not read the instructions so they can get more money!! (like credit cards)
Hey, I love the new look of your blog. How did you do that?! And I have been missing your posts...where did you go?
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