My Lucky Cup and My Dry Pants

Let me tell you about my lucky cup.

I was sitting in a coffee shop with my wife before she had to work her shift. Time’s up. She had to go to work, and I had go to my office for a bunch of meetings. The coffee shop was near her workplace and about halfway between mine and home.

I refilled her cup with boiling hot water for her tea, then I topped off my cup with coffee. Grabbed our newspapers, crossword puzzles, books, keys, purses, lunch bag, etc. We travel heavy. My hands were full as we walked back to our cars.

My wife opened up her car and got in, taking her purse, lunch bag, newspapers, and leaving me with just my keys and my coffee.

Back to my car.

Unlocked the door, opened the door, and dropped my coffee.

Just fell out of my hand.

The cup emptied its steaming hot fury all over the driver’s seat of my minivan.

Since I’ve raised three kids in a long series of minivans (let’s see… Big Red, Blackie, Silvy, and now Truffles. Yes we name our minivans.) dating back to 1992, I’m long past worrying about spilled food in the car. If I ever was. Knowing me, probably not.

Sixteen ounces of hot coffee poured all over my seat.

Hardly any on the carpeting… it just kind of pooled on the chair.

And not a drop on me.

I stepped back and stared at my car seat.

Wow. What a mess.

And not a drop on me.

I closed the car door and returned inside the coffee shop. I grabbed what could conservatively be called “a ton of napkins” and soaked up all that coffee. Back in one more time for a refill. Two hands, this time.

Back in the car, I enjoyed my coffee and the ambient coffee aroma as I drove to my meetings. In my dry pants.

That really could have been worse. It wasn’t great, but all I could think of was how dry my pants were.

I carried that cup with me all day long, from meeting to meeting, even after I had emptied it (by drinking the coffee, of course). Proudly, I showed off my lucky cup.

It’s easy to see the negative in a situation like that. I mean, I sure didn’t help whatever trade-in value that minivan had with my clumsiness. And I really don’t like being clumsy either; it’s just not that cute.

But really, that coffee could have landed on the ground, on the car’s carpeting, on the seat, as it did, or all over me. Or the cup could have just landed on its bottom, without a drop spilled but come on, let’s stay real here. Maybe it could have landed in the cup holder too.

So this was my lucky cup. I no longer have the cup, I threw it away after a few days of quiet admiration.

Can  you see the positive in whatever’s happening to you? You know the old saying, when a door closes a window opens, or something like that?

How about when one cup of coffee spills, another pair of pants stays dry?

It could be worse, so look for the opportunities in front of you, even if you didn’t expect them. There’s something there for you.

Doc DA