Simple Answers

This weekend my friend and I lost our coats after a concert. Not only was it ridiculously cold, but our coats also held the keys to our apartments and cars. 

Hooray.

Monday meant a long day of making arrangements for a new key for my car. Who knew this could be such a complicated task...but apparently, it is. I had to get a tow to take my locked car up to the dealer to get a new key programmed. It was kind of a pain in the ass to wait for this to happen, to arrange a ride there, call the insurance company to get them to pay for a tow, etc., etc.

Finally, by about 8 pm Monday evening, it seemed everything was back in order. I not only had a new key to my car and to my apartment, but lo and behold, someone had returned our coats to the concert venue. All seemed right with the world.

That is, until I went to start my car on Tuesday and it wouldn't start. Didn't the universe know I'd already had a rough start to my week, and here it was, screwing with me? (I mean, not that I DON'T want to be screwed or anything. Er...)

So, I had to call my mom to give me a ride to work, and then my dad had to come to pick me up. I was kinda pissed at over the situation, but fortunately, my dad was armed with jumper cables and other assorted car thingies...whatever we could try to get my little tin can running.

We hooked up cables, let 'er chug, checked air filters, brakes, lights. Nothing. Finally we decided to call the on-call road assistance I have through my dealer. The very nice attendant, Phil, walked me through other steps. I turned the key ten times. I pumped the gas. I let it chug for a minute, then let it rest. Lather, rinse, repeat.

After another good fifteen minutes, Phil gave up. "You'll have to have it towed up to the dealer to have them take a look at it. I have no idea what it could be."

"Nooooo!" I said. "That'll be two times in almost as many days!"

"Why?" Phil said. "What else happened?"

I explained the aforementioned key situation.

Phil paused. "Which key do you have in the ignition now? The new key or the old key?"

"The old key, I guess." I checked. "Yep, it's the one I lost."

"Go get your new key. I'll wait on the phone."

I ran in the house and found my brand-spankin'-new ridiculously expensive key and hurried back to the car.

"Try the new key," he said.

I put the key in the ignition. I closed my eyes, and turned the key.

She started like a charm.

Face. Palm.

Phil just laughed. "Looks like programming the new key deactivated your old one. The old one can open your doors, but won't give you any power to the engine."

My dad and I looked at each other in disbelief. I thanked Phil (and might have told him I loved him. Like whoah.) I shook my head. Really? It was that simple?

I believe I was probably born an over-thinking over-analyzer (saved only from myself by a mother who wasn't born with a "nonsense" gene). I tend to over-complicate, over-worry, over-mull. But sometimes, the simplest answer is really the right answer...

-Maybe it's simpler to hold your tongue.

-Maybe it's simpler to go to bed instead of finishing that last e-mail.

-Maybe it's simpler to take a vacation day rather than continue stressing out at work.

-Maybe it's simpler to give than receive.

-Maybe it's simpler to--just this once--give in to that urge or craving or temptation.

-Maybe it's simpler to just get it off your chest.

-Maybe it's simpler to quit (yes, quit).

-Maybe it's simpler to compromise, rather than to continue to haggle over details.

-And, maybe it's simpler to fight it out, down and dirty, in one fell swoop.

What's the simplest answer for you?

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