Losing Your Temper is Dangerous for Your Health and Your Phone

I was recruited to do manual labor again today. That’s the pitfall of having a flexible schedule and making it known that I do most of my real work in the evening and at night. I think I should start working during the day. I was going to try that today. I had a whole schedule made out and, just like I predicted, someone else made plans for my time. Maybe I jinxed myself by saying it would happen.

My father needed two people to help, so my sister was recruited as well, because she’s a substitute teacher so she has the summer off, and because we’re both free labor and capable of doing simple tasks.

Let me paint the scene:

Three adults, squished in a small green truck with the windows rolled down because the truck doesn’t have air conditioning (I don’t know how my father does it. I’ve been spoiled with air conditioning so I never look forward to going for a ride in his truck in the summer). Picture me in the middle, without a headrest and with my body angled because my father has a stick shift. We pull up to our destination and everyone in the truck knows that I have to make a phone call before I get out, so my father gets out and starts gathering his things. Now picture me making that important phone call to my real estate agent. I’m in the middle of leaving a message telling her what I need from her, when my sister starts screaming and pushing against me. I keep relaying the message, but I turn to see what’s going on with my sister. There are two bees circling around the side mirror. Once I’m done leaving my message, I tell my sister, “Let up the window.” You would think that would be obvious since we’re getting out anyway so it’s not like we’re going to roast or anything.

We wait in the truck for my father to talk to the people. The people aren’t home so my father decides we’ll come back another day and he’ll take a few measurements before we leave. I have three bottles of water in my lap and my phone because the agent might call me back at any second. My father needs help with the measurements so he asks my sister to help him. She puts her notebook and a book she’s reading in my lap and she gets out. She swings the truck door wide open and then walks away, telling me to close it. I yell at her, “Why didn’t you close the door? You know my hands are full!”

I put her books next to me, throw the waters on the dashboard and hop over to close the door only to have my phone go flying off my lap and on to the ground. I jump out the car to grab my phone and when I get the phone, I see that the back cover has come off. My father tells me he’ll get it, so I move to sit, only to hit the back of my head on the truck as I’m sitting down. My father passes me the back cover and I put it on and my phone is fine. I start laughing to myself. What happened wasn’t really funny, but it was to me. It was one of those ‘it figures’ moments. I was so upset with her that I wasn’t thinking straight, so it figured that something bad would happen to me. I was just happy that it wasn’t anything too bad. Karma people, karma.

Status: Reclaiming my positive energy.