Hit a deer Friday night.

Hit a Deer with my car Friday night on the way home. The car is now gone. I miss it. Not the deer, the car. The deer was an 8 point buck. The bullet was a 97 VW Cabrio. The deer was launched several feet in the air by my car and died almost immediately. As a Vegetarian, I feel awful about this. The deer are in rut, that’s a guy’s way of saying “in heat” that sounds more manly, course, and unbridled. The buck probably didn’t even see me, he was just following his sense of smell with his blood all up in a boil and the next thing he knew he was dead.

Too much like me in some ways. I loose myself in passions, be they real or imagined. Sometimes it is easier to give in to desires, lusts, flights of fancy than to fight and stand still when everything inside is screaming to do something! I’ve let outward events determine my inward feelings, thoughts and motives and these, in turn, affect my actions. I’ve let my mind imagine situations and events inwardly that have caused me to follow the same chain of action and caused me to react and do things that were not right for those around me or for myself.

It’s a shame that it takes so long for me to learn self- control. It’s not a subject taught in schools, colleges or universities. It is taught through examples and role models. It is taught through our experiences of life. It is learned the hard way not the easy way. Self-control keeps us from having “melt downs” when life doesn’t go the way we want it. Self-control keeps us from not allowing thoughts and feelings move us to act “out of passion.” Self-control helps us to keep doing the things that are right for those around us and ourselves.

The last time I hit a deer, I called Karen, crying, upset about hitting and possibly killing that deer (I never did find the body of that one so I do not know for certain.) Upset about the insurance not being able to do anything to help. I worried that my wife would never trust me with her car again. I worried about the money to fix the car and since I used that vehicle for work, I worried what customers would think of me in a busted up Ford Escape!

Then a “miracle” happened!

At my first customer stop, on my first day back from vacation, a neighbor across the street backed into the front of the Escape in the exact same spot that the deer had broken! Now, the insurance company could help, I wouldn’t have to worry about what others thought about me. I didn’t have to worry about finding the money for the repair. I did have to worry about when Karen would ever trust me with her Escape again!

Me: Honey, I’ve got good news and bad news.

Karen: What happened now?

Me: I’ve been in another accident.

Karen: What!?!

Me: The neighbor across the street backed into the Escape.

Karen: What!?!

Me: The good news is that they hit the same spot that I hit the deer with!

Karen: What!?!

That was all of 3 years ago. This time around the difference was that I didn’t let the external event move me. I was upset but I was self-controlled NOT controlled. What a different experience!

That is all I’ve got this week.

PS.

No I didn’t run. The tendons in my right foot are still swollen but getting better. I’ve got the company truck to drive so I can work without issues. I will hit the gym today to start exercising again. I will do some strength training and I really believe I will be able to run next weekend. They say it can take up to 6 weeks to recover fully from a marathon and right now is just passed the 2 week mark so I believe this is normal.