As I straddled the window that Friday night, one foot inside and one in the garden, alarm blaring behind me and my Daihatsu Charade as a getaway car parked in the back parking lot, it occurred to me that I had a lot of explaining to do should the police arrive. When you spend a large part of your life living in your head, these scenarios are common place.
It happens to me on a regular basis. I get so caught up in my own head space that I either speak before filtering, miss important information in my environment, or I forget that there are others around me and they need to know what I’m doing.
The latter was the culprit that night. I was 25 and volunteering at the local church for their Friday night youth program. This particular night we were headed down to the local high school to use their Gym facilities. While we were organising the kids for departure, I decided I needed the loo and off I went. I emerged from the toilets a few minutes later to a completely empty and dark building. In hindsight, it would’ve taken more than a few minutes to herd more than 30 teenagers out of the building. I must have been dreaming on the loo. I didn’t really have time to think about the finer details at the time though, because all of a sudden I heard a series of short beeps, followed by the most deafening siren.
Which is how I found myself straddling a church window racing to get away before the police arrived.
I’m not sure what the lesson is in this story. It could be the importance of following through once you’ve made a decision. Halfway out of the window it suddenly occurred to me that the decision to run may not have been the best one. I stood straddling the window, debating whether I should stay and explain or keep running, before I realised that if I stayed there thinking about it for too long I wouldn’t have a choice.
It could be a lesson in the importance of being proactive rather than reactive. If I’d been proactive that night I would have thought ahead and waited the 10 minutes it would have taken us to walk to our destination. I was an adult, I could have controlled the urge.
Being the passionate dreamer that I am, I still struggle with being Proactive instead of Reactive. In my defense though, I do have the double whammy. The passion makes me react but not without thinking. The dreamer has definitely thought it through first. It’s just that the logic is different for a dreamer than it is for a non dreamer.
Living In My Own World
Like the time I was shopping at Bunnings for a clothes line. I found the one I needed without incident and the instructions on the side of the box told me that I needed 6 bags of cement. So I headed off to the cement aisle. Easy. How many different types of cement can there be?
LOTS, as I discovered when I rounded the corner and was faced with a wall full of cement bags.
Not a problem, I’ll find someone to help me. There’s a man with a hazard vest on, loading things into a trolley. He must be helping another customer, he looks like the friendly helpful sort of guy that would do that. So I sidled up to him and when I saw that that he was alone, no other customer in sight, I asked him for assistance.
You’d think that the fact that there was no other customer around and he wasn’t wearing the Bunnings colours would be a sign. But my brain didn’t see that way.
He must have been a special customer service guy for the cement section because he had a lovely smile and was very helpful and knowledgeable about all the different types of cement. He gave me lots of advice and even offered to load the cement into the trolley for me. I objected, telling him I lift weights, I can handle a few kilos of cement.
Yes, to an outsider looking in that might have looked like I was a Cougar flirting with her much younger prey, but I can assure you I wasn’t. I was just telling it how it is.
Then I asked him if I really did need the 6 bags as it seemed like a lot. To which he responded, I’m not sure about that, you’ll have to ask one of the Bunnings’ staff .
GULP!!
Um….. so you’re not Bunnings staff??
I could feel my face slowly begin to match the colour of my red mini.
No, I just ducked in to pick up a few things I needed.
Oops! I DID IT AGAIN!
About the Author
SARINA ELDER
Sarina is a Writer with a passion for Making A Difference (MAD).
As a first generation Australian who struggled with cultural identity as a child, Sarina understands the importance of Being, Belonging, and Becoming as a fundamental need in all of us, regardless of age.
As a misunderstood Creative, who was diagnosed with ADHD in her adult years, Sarina is particularly passionate about supporting others to identify and release their Creative, or the Creative in their children, and to embrace the Neurodiversity that accompanies Creativity.
Sarina believes the best way to embrace ourselves is through laughter, and is open to sharing her own stories with the hope of encouraging others.