“These things stress me out!” I told my husband Saturday morning.
I was talking about going to get flu shots. It’s such a minor thing, and I know my level of stress and over planning is amusing to him. And usually it works out just fine. But still, every time, I stress.
“We have to leave now to get to the clinic 5 minutes before it opens so we can all be ready to go when the barrier goes down and I get the opportunity to sign us all in,” I said as I rushed us into the car at 8:30.
We did arrive right at 8:55 thank you very much. Of course the first thing the PA said was “did you sign up in advance?” What?! Frantically, I pounded my finger on the screen only to see 11AM as the first time slot. “Oh no!” I exclaimed as the twins eyes started to well up over the anticipation of a shot still hours away.
I took an 11 time slot as the PA said “You probably won’t get them in all together. You’ll have to come back several times.” As I quickly tried to enter in the next one suddenly I was greeted with a glowing button that said “Are you a walk-in?” Why yes, I am. It let me sign up two of my boys as walk-ins before indicating that the third would now have to wait 133 minutes. Meanwhile, the clinic was still empty. We rushed in our twins and learned that the rest of us could do our shots at the pharmacy across the store.
In the end, we got all five shots done after a lot of repetitive paperwork and some running across Target.
So yes, I stress about these things a little. But in the end, no matter the planning, the early arrival, the stress – it didn’t matter. We got our shots, the boys got toys with their $5 coupons and we were out in less than 30 minutes.
Today I’m thinking about this whole ordeal as I start my day centering myself and attempting to reduce needless worry. My prayer today is that we all get the breath and space we need to think rationally about what the day has to offer. May we trust God with our worries and let God hold them for us. May we remember that it’ll be okay in the end.
By the way, as we exited Target, I went back to cancel our extra walk-in appts that were to be hours away and there they were all at the top, next in line.
Worry, frantic action… all for nothing in the end!
