Parking Karma

I swear this is true. I have the best parking karma! When I need a spot close to the door - bam! Front row parking.

I started noticing this a few years ago, and since then have been making sacrifices to the parking gods in order to continue my good fortune. When I don't need a close spot, I park far away, leaving the close spot for someone who does need it that day. Days when I have to carry a baby or use a stroller, or on days when I am in a mad rush, my close parking space is there waiting for me.

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Now it may be that my excellent parking karma is extending itself into other areas. The other day, while Jack was at preschool, I parked in a far away spot. After my appointment as I drove away, I was warned of a speed trap by an angel in a pick-up truck. (The cop was at the bottom of a steep hill. It's tough to stay under the speed limit on that hill... especially if you're someone - like me - who thinks life is too short to drive under the speed limit!) Lucky me to happen by at the exact time that someone else was driving the other way flashing his brights. Thank-you kind sir!

Naysayers will believe that this is all coincidence. Well, call it what you will. Sports athletes have done way stranger things in order to continue a winning streak. And besides, allowing someone else to have a close parking spot on a day when I'm not in a hurry is just a nice thing to do. It's a win-win.

I wonder how far this parking karma thing can go? If I park even further away from the door, maybe next time all the lights will be green on my drive home. Maybe all I'll have to do is think Excuse me, and cars will move out of the way for me. Maybe when I get home, the driveway will have already been shoveled! ... Maybe I'm pushing my luck.

I don't want to anger the parking gods by abusing the parking priviledges I have, so I think I'll just be happy with a good spot when I need one. (Okay, I swear I am not planning this, but everything I write this week is pointing back to this post about Tom Shadyac's documentary I AM, and the idea of people taking only what we need. Interesting.)

Have a great Thursday, and may you find the parking spot you need today and every day.