One good deed...

I was driving to the Magistrates court yesterday, it was my first day back on the bench rota after my summer break. I happened to tune in to Radio 4 and started listening to one of the saddest interviews I have ever heard. It was a tragic story about a profoundly disabled woman and the trials and tribulations that had beset her throughout her life. Every time she thought she had found happiness, tragedy struck her again, until she lost her faith.

I started wondering why some people are dealt such a rotten hand in life and at the same time felt obligated to say brief prayer of gratitude. I have had  a lovely summer, with two fantastic 50th birthday celebrations, surrounded by friends and family, I have lot to feel grateful for. Then I started thinking " I wonder what's around the corner?" I didn't have to wait too long.

I drove down into the underground car park and swung effortlessly into a parking bay. As I drove in, a woman in an MPV struggled to park in the adjacent space; she rolled down her  window and shouted "Lucky You, driving a Mini!" I started to worry that maybe I was too lucky, and that I should leave this large parking bay available for someone with a larger car and that I should park in a smaller one. So I did, I reversed out of my lovely space and found a smaller one, only to collide with a large cement column as I swung in, knocking off the wheel arch cover and giving the front bumper a really good bashing.  So much for altruism!

Did I tempt fate? Was I asking to be tested? Did I feel guilty for everything I had when this poor woman on the radio had so little? I suppose the answer is "Yes" to all of it. Have I learned anything? Apart from "Don't be a Twit  in a Carpark", I should have stopped at the prayer of gratitude, it was enough.