Dooley Noted: 5/3/2014
Two days ago, I trained for a few hours outside. I was more Caribbean sundrunk than I realized.
I ran my bathwater, and I vaguely remember laying down for a second as it filled. Ten minutes later, I awoke startled to find that the bathtub had overflown, filling my hotel room with about two inches thick of water.
I immediately jumped into action, using the strength I earned to move all the furniture to the balcony. I called the front desk for a mop and Shopvac, but I am on an island country. The mop looked like this, but two extra towels were provided.
I spent two hours shuffling the water out of the room and using the four towels to soak up the inundated room.
I squeezed those towels with every ounce of irritation for making such a huge mistake. There was no time to berate myself, although that was my first instinct. I just went to work.
It took two hours to get the room free of water. But after the task was complete, it looked like nothing ever happened. If anything, the room looked freshly mopped!
For the rest of the evening, I couldn’t shake the thought that In the course of two hours, there was calm – then chaos – then back to calm. To get back to calm, it might take some work.
That overflow taught me more than simply not to accidentally nap while your bath water runs.
It taught me that chaos comes out of nowhere and overflows upon you. You can beat yourself down and slow the clean up.
Or, you can see it as an opportunity to demonstrate your functional strength of body and mind. Tough moments can always be turned around. Every overflow just needs a little focus and strength.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley