Rough Morning…But Not As Bad As Others

This morning was so aggravating. I went to the train station to catch the train. I was running a couple minutes behind so I didn’t have time to park in my normal spot. I had to go park on the side the train doors opened on. I pull in to the parking lot and there are no spaces at all to park in. Because of the way the parking lot is plowed, the only available spaces were for compact cars…aka, your car needs to fit nicely in to the space with its own allotted snow bank. My vehicle, being the beast that it is, did not even come close to fitting. I’d like to point out that had there been a space on this side, I would have SO made the train!

I see people making up parking spots. However, when you do that, you don’t have a number to properly pay the meter by the platform. I have seen people get tickets when they park like that so I opted not to. I drove around to the other side. I get a spot on the far end of the lot and I am psyched. I grab my things and look in my rear view to see the train pulling in to the station. DAMN IT! I missed it. There is no way for me to cross over and get to the boarding side.

I throw my things on the seat and grab my phone to see when the next train is coming and to make sure that one isn’t having mechanical difficulties since I had already gotten a few emails today that said that various Lowell trains were canceled due to mechanical problems. Luckily the next one is on time but I decide to take my time in the car since it’s not coming for a half an hour. A few other people were in the same position as me as I saw them park and wait in their cars.

I hear a knocking on my window as I am waiting. I open my door. “Can I use your phone? I locked my purse in my car. It has my keys, train ticket and work badge in it. My husband is only five minutes away so he can just come down with the keys.” I let her use my phone. She leaves him a voice mail to meet her inside at the train station. She heads up to the station and I stay in my car. After a while, I start to head up to go sit in the station and wait for the train. I see her still sitting there worried. I head over. “Do you want to try one more time before the train comes?” I say as I hand her my phone. “Oh my god! Thank you! I don’t know where he could be.” She calls again and then tries to call her home phone too. No one picks up. She can’t even board the train because her train pass is in the car and so is her work badge. This is the second train today she has missed. I wish her luck as I head out to board the train.

As I’m heading out side I see a shiny new sign that says “Failure to pay for parking will result in vehicle being towed at owner’s expense.” I am glad I didn’t “invent a spot” like some others did and run for the train. I’d much rather miss my train than come home to having my car gone.

So, all that being said…my theory is that no matter how bad I think I have it, clearly someone else has it worse than me between missing multiple trains instead of just one and locked purses in cars and now, new posters claiming they can tow a vehicle instead of just ticket, I’d say my morning wasn’t all that bad after all.