Parking - It's a Good Thing!

This is the day which the Lord hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Wow! A second post for this week. I feel like I haven't posted in such a long time. I am getting more used to my new schedule and still loving my job! I did have my parking spot changed - I finally caved and asked my boss for a parking post in one of the garages. It has been raining so much and the water was running over the sidewalks and two mornings it was lightning, which really scares me to walk outside while it's storming. I feel like a great target - walking along holding my lightning rod (a.k.a. umbrella) up towards the sky just asking to be hit!

I went to the parking office yesterday and exchanged my parking permit for a permit to park in a garage behind one of the professional buildings where I could easily access the walkway and be completely out of the weather all the way to my office! It was still a ways to my office from that garage, but I didn't mind. I really appreciated my boss for making the arrangements for me. She explained which garage I would be parking in and said that even though it wasn't the closest garage to our building, I would at least be able to walk out of the weather! I have enjoyed walking the distance to my office from the parking lot since starting my job but realized that I probably wouldn't like it was much as the weather gets warmer, the storms pour down and winter weather - forget about it!

This morning when I pulled into the garage, I held my little permit up against the ID machine and expected the "arm" to lift to allow me into the garage! Didn't happen! I put my permit against that little machine every which way I could think of and still nothing! Of course, the traffic was beginning to back up behind me - all faithful employees trying to get parked and into their office! I finally gave up and pulled a ticket thinking I would get it cleared up later in the day and not have to pay the $5.00 parking fee.

When I got to my office, I was telling the other girls all about my trouble with my new "convenient" parking space and how I could not even get in the garage! They tried to explain to me how to hold up the permit so that the machine could read it from about 18 inches away! Well, that would work for the garage they park in, but mine had a completely different system so they couldn't really help me.

I called over to the parking office and talked to Andy, who by the way was the one I saw yesterday to get my permits exchanged! First of all, I felt really dumb because I couldn't even get my permit to work! Thankfully, I could laugh at myself and told Andy how dumb I felt because I couldn't even work the ID machine! The reason I say it's good that I could laugh at myself is because by the time I finished telling him about my trouble with my permit - and he finished laughing! - he told me that the reason my permit wouldn't work was because - I was in the wrong garage!

It really was funny and I was glad to know that I wasn't as inept as I originally thought! When I told our Administrative Assistant the reason I couldn't get into the garage, she assured me that our boss had told me to go to that garage! Again, the mistake was not my fault! My day was getting better all the time, now! The AA validated my parking ticket - they wouldn't be getting $5.00 from me today! Tomorrow, I know where to park and how to work the ID machine so that I can get into the parking garage! And to add even more - it's closer to my office! Now that is a mixed blessing - I won't be walking as far during the day which means that I will have to actually make time for exercise! Surely, surely I can do that, right?

I met with the volunteer coordinator this past Monday and am set up to start my volunteer work shortly. Next Monday I will be "shadowing" the volunteers to get an idea of what it will be like to work with the patients! I am really excited! The coordinator took me on a tour of the hospital where the patients are and introduced me to a few of the other volunteers.

I think she also got me to agree to make aprons for the volunteers who work in the gift shops. They have aprons now, but they are just very plain. She would like to have some made out of cute material - maybe changing with the different seasons and holidays. I used to sew a lot when the kids were younger, but not so much in a while. I can sew and aprons are pretty easy! I can probably make several over a weekend, so I'm sure it won't be a bad project for me.

I am really in a good place in my life and know how greatly the Lord has blessed me. When I chose the Title for my blog - Each Day Is A Gift - it related more to my life situation at the time in dealing with my Mom and the Dementia that had taken over her life. It holds new meaning to me now that my Mom has passed away, but still is so appropriate and reminds me constantly that each day is truly a gift. We're not promised tomorrow and I want to always remember that the day I am living could be my last. Or in the blink of an eye, my life could be changed by events of the day!

I thank God each day for the blessings I have been given. I pray that I will never take for granted the gifts he has allowed me to have while on this earth! I praise Him always for the promise of a home in Heaven when my life on this earth is over!

Be joyful always;

pray continually;

give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18