I am in the midst of an attitude adjustment. This happens many times in my life, but this one will cause me as well as around 170 other people to plan. I will daily need to do this as I leave my house. I live between two bridges that will be down for months for restoration purposes. This means I will need approximately five more minutes each way to go to Newton and back home. To go to Des Moines, I will need an extra 40 minutes to go and come. Rearranging my schedule won’t be fun. Yet, when I look at the inconvenience, I must remember I often forget to thank those engineers and road crews that keep roads and bridges I use safe. They are often out there in all kinds of weather with vehicles rushing by them and people mad at them.
Then as so often happens when I need an attitude adjustment, I think of the other people who make my daily life easier. Yet, how often do I show appreciation for business, restaurant, law enforcement and medical staff that serve me. Like many I notice when they don’t more often than when things run smoothly.
This winter has been hard on many, yet my roads have been cleared to use most of the time. Yes, there are plenty of gravel problems and potholes, but I see crews out trying to stay ahead of them.
In the past as I’ve made attitude adjustments, I have found I usually find how many things and acts I haven’t taken time to appreciate. Yes, I’ll need to work on my attitude daily for three or four months, but if I start now, I don’t think it will be as much a nuisance as I fear. I remember my grandfather saying they just hoped the ruts wouldn’t be deeper than the car. I only will need spend more travel time on good roads mostly and hold my breath over the gravel road.
Christine Pauley
Newton