Happenstance
Every now and then something happens in life that seems like it was just "meant to be". Call it a coincidence or happenstance I guess.
I've had a few of those in the last week and a half, here's one of them.
Most mornings I begin the day by making a lunch for my wife and I, as well as some coffees to go. This morning we were both tired and I didn't feel like doing either of those things, so we agreed we would buy lunch and also pick up coffee.
I have a few options for coffee on the way to work, and normally I would stop by one of the places on the same street as the office. And while I don't need GPS to tell me how to get to work, I use Android Auto daily to get an estimation of what time I'll get to the office (it's helpful to know that even if I'm stuck in stop & go traffic through the downtown core, it really is only 10 more minutes to get to the office); while I'm at it I usually also play a podcast1).
So this morning I decided to get my coffee ahead of time. I placed my order for the local Starbucks, which is just a few minutes away from the house. Because I was going just a short hop, I didn't bother plugging my phone in; I left the radio on. Got inside the store, and waited a few minutes for my coffee. Once I picked it up I headed leisurely back to my car and turned it on.
As luck would have it, the morning show was seconds away from launching into a road traffic update. Perfect! I can hear about how my ride into work is the usual slow crawl. Except this morning it wasn't; there was a 3-car collision in the left-hand lane 3 exits before the one I needed to take. The highway was backed up for kilometres.
Had I gone through my usual routine (or even if I still skipped making lunch & coffee, and picked up from one of the shops along the way) I would have been stuck in a mess of a commute into the office. Instead, I took an alternate route that is also a much more pleasant drive; and I arrived at the office at the same time I usually do.
Happenstance.
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This week it's been an audiobook, Rising Strong by Brené Brown.↩