When Having a Last Minute Poop Saved the Group From a Whole Lot of Trouble

Have you ever missed your flight because of an incident you could not control? Does seem rather annoying at the time, doesn’t it? Ever missed an important event, or arrived late, due to a decision you made? Or because of a last minute poop?

This late afternoon, I took a bet, and went into a small road to avoid the traffic lights at the main road that were turning red. Along that small road, about half the time, a truck may stop there to deliver some goods to the shops and block the road. Or we may even encounter a car waiting to pick someone up along that stretch. I lost my bet. Because even though the traffic lights turned red at the main road, there was a truck delivering goods along the small road I picked. Had I chosen to wait at the traffic lights instead, I would’ve reached my destination slightly earlier. Such inconveniences used to tick me off very easily in the past. But not anymore.

My hubby related this incident that happened to him many years ago. He had planned a trip to Malaysia with two good friends. They were to meet at the train station and travel in by train. It was supposed to be a rather short ride, and they should reach their destination within a few hours. They even met up at an earlier timing for breakfast before their train ride.

The Last Minute Poop

After breakfast, they waited around to board their train. However, one friend had to answer nature’s call at the very last minute. So he ran off to take his last minute poop. When he returned, they hurried to the platform, only to find that their train just left the station.

Well, most people might have been pissed off by the last-minute-poop friend. I admit that even I may feel annoyed that the friend ‘chose’ to answer nature’s call at the very last moment. But Sean and the other friend did not feel annoyed at all, even though their pooping friend felt bad about causing everyone to miss the train. Sean then suggested that they take a bus ride in instead, and proceed with their plans. So they did.

The bus ride was a few hours longer, but they eventually reached their destination within the same day. They went ahead with their plans.

The Last Minute Poop Saved the Trio From Much Trouble

A couple of days later, they went to explore some nature in the area and met some tourists along the way. As they were chatting, the tourist mentioned that they were exhausted. After much probing, Sean and friends found out that part of the train the tourist was on had fallen off the tracks the day before. This caused many passengers to lose their luggage, and get stranded at the tracks for many hours. Fortunately, the accident was a minor one and no one was hurt.

Sean and friends also then found out that was the exact same train that they were supposed to be on. I can imagine that they must have felt so thankful to the friend who took the last minute poop. Had their friend not gone to answer nature’s call at that very last minute, they would have boarded the train and got into the train accident. The delay due to the accident would’ve been worse than the delay they encountered through travelling in by bus!

Moral of the Story

I used to be a rather impatient person. I would get annoyed if I missed my train ride over a last minute poop. But after Sean’s story, I saw the light. In Chinese, we say, 看开了.

First of all, it wasn’t the pooping friend’s fault that he had to poop. If you gotta go, you gotta go. Otherwise, we cannot expect him to go in his pants, can we?

Secondly, I’ve come to learn that sometimes things are out of our control. And when we cannot control the situation, it would be less painful for us to simply let it go. Like Sean’s pooping friend (pun intended). 😛

Thirdly, we have to have faith in what lies ahead of us. Some of us may believe in a higher being’s doing. For me, I choose to believe that I have the capability to adapt and cope with whatever lies ahead of me. If I missed my train or flight, I can pick an alternative travel plan. It isn’t the end of the world. And it definitely isn’t worth losing my mind or temper over it.

Like the trio, because they missed their train ride, they did not get into the train accident and saved a whole lot of trouble as a result. Sean and friend made the right choice not to get mad over their friend’s answer to nature’s call.

Take Each Inconvenience as an Experience and Enjoy the Journey

Back in 2015, Sean and I went for our honeymoon to the west coast of the USA. On our return trip, we encountered some inconvenience at the LA International Airport. Because of some miscommunication and bad instructions from the airline crew, we missed our flight (together with many others) and were delayed by over 17 hours. Despite the fatigue, Sean and I decided to enjoy the process anyway. I remember telling him, “Let’s treat this as a positive experience! When will we ever have the chance to encounter a flight delay? Moreover, we are not in any sort of danger.” He agreed readily and we truly enjoyed our twosome experience together.

During the delay, we had to nap overnight on the hard benches in Tokyo Haneda Airport. But we got to see their interesting culture as we encountered some fancily-dressed youngsters attending a late night cosplay event at the airport. As our seats got upgraded, we were also treated to a very fulfilling brunch (with wine!) at the airport lounge. We wouldn’t have had the chance to enjoy the good food, had we not missed our original flight. 🙂

When Life Gives You Lemons

We should apply this similar outlook in every aspect of our lives. We only have one life to live. And when we draw too much attention towards one small source of negativity, we end up investing too much unnecessary energy to something not even worth our time and effort in the first place.

I truly admire my hubby, Sean. He has taught me SO MUCH in just 5 years together. And this is one of the lessons he’s taught me and I’m sharing with you today. So when life gives you lemons, make margaritas! And enjoy them! 🙂