I'm not that important and neither is my job

It has been 17 days since I last posted. This is mostly because I've been really busy with work and my life and being generally important.

I came home to Louisiana for the weekend to hang out with my mom and relax. It was a good weekend. I ate shrimp and grits and drank iced tea. I drank coffee and ate etouffe. We talked shit, and talked good things, we laughed and slept. It was good, but, I was ready to get back to my life in Austin today.

As I drove out of the driveway I was already thinking about work, about emails, about things I forgot to do. I remembered I left clothes in the washer and my trash in my house. So, I had begun to prepare for malodorous mix of mold and rotting vegetables upon my arrival at 6500 Champion Grandview.

I looked down at my dashboard to set my odometer. 4 warning lights were on. Break system warning light, anti-lock brake system warning light, the little car sliding off the road light, and the traction warning light. I stop. I put on my hazards. I turn around.

I turn-off and turn back on the car (like a re-boot?) I play with the parking break. Mom and I decide I'm not going anywhere.

I read the manual. Words like "Stop Immediately and contact your dealer" let me know I've made the right decision to not drive 7 hours on questionable breaks.

I start to freak out about what all I'm going to have to miss tomorrow. As I begin frantically writing emails, I calm down. No one cares. I'm not a surgeon or a doctor. I'm not a lawyer. No one is going to jail because I can't be at work. No one's life is going to shut down. No one will be mad at me for making the safe decision.

I'm just not that important (thank God!). What is important is shrimp and grits with your mom and not dying in a fiery accident on I-35 because I had a meeting.

Perspective. Isn't it liberating?