When’s the last time you felt GOOD in a parking garage? Truly, I’m curious, because these structures don’t feel good to me, they’re tightly packed, they’re dark and dingy, you drive in dizzying circles hoping to find a spot, they’re full of restrictions and some collapse.
COLLAPSE!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel right and good when my vehicle, my body, or my fiancé and loved ones are parked in a parking garage. The positive side of this is they’re a very vital part of life for millions, and most of the time, nothing bad happens, only good or neutral things do. They allow for densely organized parking in downtown and populated areas, and provide shelter for us and our vehicles.
Why am I writing about this?
Yesterday, my fiancé and I took the day off work from our corporate jobs, to attend a free branding conference downtown. We had no idea what to expect of the day, so went with the plan to get as much as we could of it, to better the branding of our side businesses. She is an abstract painter, and I am a writer/life coach/investor/soon to be realtor. We have much to brand and market.
We took my old SUV, the one I absolutely love to drive and be in, and got into the parking garage … scraped the roof rack. Okay, that’s unsettling, but not detrimental. As we circled up the tightly wound, dark and dingy old parking garage maze, the concrete beams seemed to be getting shorter and shorter. With each one we drove under, my fiancé’s anxiety grew exponentially.
At one point, she wanted to get out, because it felt like those concrete beams were going to be the end of us, right there. I calmly pointed out other tall vehicles parked safely in there and got out to visually measure our clearance. It wasn’t much, maybe half an inch.
The few minutes we were in there felt like hours. Instead of stubbornly going on with it, I recognized her anxiety and near panic, found an exit and got us slowly, safely and surely out of that parking garage.
“I’ll find us a safe lot to park in, there are several around” I assured her, in hopes of calming her concerns.
“My stomach hurts, it’s in knots, I’ll relax with a few minutes” she responded.
As we drove through the nearby lot, there were some very slim parking spots we could have forced our way into, but that didn’t feel right, either. We were both too tall and too wide, to park. I have rarely experienced any good to come from things that are forced or fought to make happen, in my life.
Things either go smoothly and easily and go right, or they are forced and fought for, and go horribly wrong, resulting in “I should have listened to my gut and intuition.”
“Hungry? Let’s get out of here and go find some breakfast” I suggested, as it didn’t feel we were meant to be in that conference room all day, while we had an unusually warm and beautiful day in Texas to enjoy, and the day off. Some days, you gotta be flexible with changing plans. What’s planned is not always meant to happen.
◊♦◊
Here are more ways to become a part of The Good Men Project community:
Request to join our private Facebook Group for Writers—it’s like our virtual newsroom where you connect with editors and other writers about issues and ideas.
Click here to become a Premium Member of The Good Men Project Community. Have access to these benefits:
- Get access to an exclusive “Members Only” Group on Facebook
- Join our Social Interest Groups—weekly calls about topics of interest in today’s world
- View the website with no ads
- Get free access to classes, workshops, and exclusive events
- Be invited to an exclusive weekly “Call with the Publisher” with other Premium Members
- Commenting badge.
Are you stuck on what to write? Sign up for our Writing Prompts emails, you’ll get ideas directly from our editors every Monday and Thursday. If you already have a final draft, then click below to send your post through our submission system.
If you are already working with an editor at GMP, please be sure to name that person. If you are not currently working with a GMP editor, one will be assigned to you.
◊♦◊
Are you a first-time contributor to The Good Men Project? Submit here:
◊♦◊
Have you contributed before and have a Submittable account? Use our Quick Submit link here:
◊♦◊
Do you have previously published work that you would like to syndicate on The Good Men Project? Click here:
—