Inconvenient Blessings

Today we took the Ferry to Seattle which confused the heck out of the kids. They couldn’t believe we were driving our truck onto the boat. We took a trip around the downtown area to see Pike’s Market, the space needle, and get some tasty Japanese-Latin fusion (Ally had a crazy tempura craving). When it was time to go home, the line for the ferry was quite long, we sat in our car and waited for the next ferry. I stood outside the vehicle to stretch my legs, and this elderly man came out of the vehicle next to me to inspect the trailer he was towing. We got to talking, his name was Pete. Pete explained that he had driven that trailer from Colorado and was on his way to visit his brother for the summer and catch up. I briefly explained our trip and his face lit up. He was a “military brat” and had always been close to his siblings because of the numerous places they traveled together around the world. Pete said that the ability to move around with his family established close bonds and opened up his mind to the world around him. I thanked him for his comments, the boat was loaded, and we were on our way.

I think about all the inconveniences in life, particularly when we have to wait, nobody likes waiting. And yet, it was the very inconvenience that facilitated a pleasant conversation that would not have happened otherwise. It wasn’t the deepest discussion, but it was much more pleasant than just staring at my watch waiting for the Ferry to show up. I know we’re all experiencing some major COVID inconveniences. We’re staring at the news hoping for something to change. But perhaps, while we wait for the “unpause” button to be pressed, we can take a short breath, look around, and find a blessing hidden in the inconvenience.

Much Aloha,

Loco