The A La Carte

I’m really good at solving other people’s problems.

Need a system? I’ve got one.

Need a process? I’ll build it.

Need someone to organize the chaos? That’s literally how I make my living.

But every once in a while life reminds me that some things don’t care how organized you are.

The last couple of weeks have been one of those reminders.

I’ve been dog sitting for two weeks. It’s been good. It’s also been harder than I expected. Every night I realize I can’t just go home and hear Buckeye barking at me because he has decided it’s bedtime. It’s amazing how much you miss a little routine that used to feel so ordinary.

And speaking of things I didn’t expect…

Someone hit my parked car.

Parked.

I wasn’t even in it.

There is something uniquely frustrating about walking up to your vehicle and realizing congratulations, you now have a new part-time job dealing with someone else’s insurance company.

My first reaction? Anger.

Then defeat.

Then I laughed because… honestly… of course this would happen now.

But here’s the part I’m actually proud of.

I didn’t deal with it that night.

Normally I’d start making lists, filing claims, taking photos, checking paperwork, and trying to solve the problem immediately.

Instead I looked at the situation and thought, “I’ve reached my stress limit for today.”

So I went for a walk with a friend.

We spent hours talking about life. Work. Relationships. The future. Nothing earth-shattering, just one of those conversations where you can show up exactly as you are without trying to impress anyone.

The insurance company was still going to be there in the morning.

The car wasn’t going to magically fix itself overnight.

The paperwork could wait.

Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is postpone the problem until you actually have the capacity to deal with it.

Somewhere in all of this, I realized something else.

I’ve started missing my tiny room.

My twin bed.

My little office.

Not because they’re glamorous, but because they’re mine.

There’s something comforting about your own routine. Your own space. Closing the door and knowing your day is done.

Funny how we don’t always appreciate those things until we’re away from them.

The walk also reminded me of something I’ve been slowly accepting.

Sometimes people come into your life exactly as they’re meant to.

Maybe they’re a relationship.

Maybe they’re a friendship.

Maybe they’re just someone who helps you remember to breathe after your parked car gets hit.

Not every meaningful connection has to become something more.

The hardest lesson for me, though, has been realizing how much control I have at work versus how little control I sometimes feel in my own life.

I can organize someone else’s business.

I can build systems.

I can anticipate problems before they happen.

But I can’t stop someone from backing into my car.

I can’t speed up an insurance claim.

I can’t make someone see me the way I might hope they would.

I can’t rewind time to hear Buckeye bark one more time.

Life has a funny way of reminding us that control is often an illusion.

Maybe peace isn’t found in controlling everything.

Maybe it’s found in knowing when to stop trying.

Sometimes that looks like putting off the insurance claim until tomorrow.

Sometimes it looks like appreciating a twin-sized bed.

Sometimes it looks like taking a long walk instead of trying to fix everything.

And honestly?

I’m still learning the difference.