A Good 'Slap' on the Face

I've realized that I've become a different person these past few months. My trip to my hometown didn't do me good because my body was a wreck back then. I didn't get the chance to meet many people and learn life lessons from them. Oh well....

Anyway, I had my life lesson eventually. One day during a training, I got three miscalls. It's from my previous workplace. I called immediately because my heart beat so fast after I looked at the phone screen.

It's just news about a package sent by a friend living in South Kalimantan. The person who called me, the branch secretary, told me that there's the label 'FOOD' written on the sender's slip. I got so tired immediately, knowing that I had to get to the branch where I'd put my car first (a long way back, by the way) and then drove to pick the package. Imagining the length of the trip made me feel really exhausted.

But God is fair. Never had He disappointed me when my intention is good. It turned out that the trips took only a half hour and then another half hour. I reached the place at 19.00 and there were only security guards with their undershirts. They told me the branch's updates and they were so eager that I had to be patient in listening to them. They even showed me the latest condition of the building. I couldn't help it but to smile when one of them just kept on talking and talking. Ah, these people. What a memory we had back then. Before I knew it, I wasn't that tired any longer.

I opened the package at a small diner while waiting for the food. The content made me smile. Two bracelets, a brooch and a key chain. Another package for my friend who visited Kalimantan too. And then there's one more package, fried saluang fish. I could feel my blurry eyes. First of all, she remembers the model type I like. Second, I haven't had the color of this brooch. Third, she knows what color I like for a bracelet. All models are classic and the sellers don't like to sell this model because it's not popular among the locals. I spent almost 2 hours with the girls just to get 2 models. Fourth, I like this saluang fish so much. It doesn't exist in Java, only in South Kalimantan and southern part of Sumatra. I don't want to mention about the prices of these stuff as a factor, not to mention the delivery fee, but I know she'd spent quite a lot. Not to mention the hardship of the sending procedures. The point is, she remembers all the details. And she made some efforts. What a darling.

Getting all life lessons in a day made me see myself. How selfish I have been to the people who care about me. How I didn't take care of myself too. Life has been about making money till (as my friend had said many times) I can barely zip my purse. Life has been about working from 10 AM to 10 PM everyday. Weekends too, sometimes.

I canceled my session on Friday. I postponed a session with a different student. I stayed home the whole day these past two days and only went out to visit my Mom. I wanted to, as my friend says, retreat. I wanted to spend time resting my mind and thinking about my circle of people. People who think I matter.