A Lesson in Waiting

Yesterday I learned a valuable lesson in the art of procrastination. Some would say that it does not pay to put things off untill the last possible minute, I have to disagree. Being pulled over by the police might make some folks anxious and uncomfortable but for me it was a relief of sorts. Those who know me will tell you that I'm the type of person who takes things with a grain of salt, nothing bothers me. So it would come at no surprise for them to see a smile on my face as I sat on the side of the road with a fully lit cruiser parked behind me. After all it was my own procrastinating ways that led me to that moment. So when the officer approached the car and said, "you've got a junk inspection sticker", I did not waste his time by trying to act surprised, or pretending I had no idea that my sticker had expired last November. I won't even debate that it is a good or bad idea to have your car inspected annually. The point is I should have had my ride inspected five months earlier, I was completely aware of this but still I neglected my responsability for no other reason than I was too busy. Which, in some aspects, is true, but it is still no excuse. A lot of things in my life get neglected because of my busy lifestyle, although I do try to own up to my responsabilities. In fact every day I drove my car I wondered to myself, "how long before I get pulled over?" or, "does anybody even care that I have an expired inspection sticker?". The answer to both those questions came to me yesterday while I was sitting in my driver's seat waiting for the officer to finish writing the citation. Would I wait five months to have my car inspected next year, probably. Is it worth getting flustered about when getting pulled over for something that you expected, not in the least. In fact it seemed as though the officer was having a worse day than me when he said,"they're asking us to crack down on this", as he handed me my ticket and explained to me my right to appeal. I must say that fifty dollars is an inexpensive way to learn a lesson in life. Besides I can think of many people overseas that are learning very valuable lessons everyday at the expense of lives lost. Trivial problems deserve trivial responses. Let us focus on what is really important and let us face our own mistakes with honor.