#SOCSunday : Focusing on the Necessities

I woke up this morning in so much pain. Barely able to lift up my head or turn my head.  Despite that, I was thankful. Thankful that I woke up in my own bed, with my kids sprawled over the bed (I can never pinpoint when they sneak in during the night - but I'm pretty sure they do it in pre-synchronized shifts).

On Christmas Eve, I was driving back from a Wal-Mart run for cookies and eggnog for Santa.  My parents' were in total slacker mode this year - I guess that's what happens when your kids have all been gone for years and Santa hasn't visited your house in almost 5 years, right?

BAM! Literally, it was a half-blink of an eye that a buck darted into the road and did a somersault over my car. I honestly didn't have time to react and that was a good thing.  There were cars behind me and coming towards me - if I'd slammed on my brakes, swerved, anything...the result could have been a lot worse than my banged up vehicle.

My first reaction was to laugh. Yes, I'm being serious. I literally laughed out load and said, "Seriously God?!?" I had no more tears to cry...just pure frustration. This seemed to be one more thing to add to the ever growing list of what else can happen to make life difficult.

I'm not a complainer - I'm really not. I try so hard to look at the positive, but it was getting so very hard to keep doing that when it seemed like I had this perpetual black cloud over my head. I was just plain tired.

I called my best friend trying to touch bases with her husband who works for the police force in my hometown.  I, also, called my husband to get the insurance information and he asked for pictures of the vehicle. I accidentally sent them to my BFF and her response shook me. I had to step back and look at the situation.  Honestly, the car did look bad - really bad. I was upset and angry at the inconveniences and expense of a deductible.

In the quiet of the night, it hit me and the tears came. Tears of gratitude and release and relief.  I had gotten so caught up in life that I'd stopped focused on living. I took a much-needed break from just about everything to regroup and refocus. Sometimes we need that jolt to remind us what's truly important and necessary in our lives.

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This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post hosted by jana's thinking place. It is 5 minutes of your time and a brain dump. If you'd like to try it...here are the rules:

~Set a timer and write for 5 minutes

~Write an intro if you'd like but don't edit the post. No spellchecking. No proofreading. Just raw writing.

~Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. Your back door to your blog, if you'd like, but make it accessible.

~Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post

~Link up your post at jana's thinking place

~Visit your fellow bloggers and show them some love