Our car got keyed. Someone took it upon themselves to scratch a long white line from bumper to bonnet. So. Annoying. So. Angry!

According to my spiritual mentor Marion, there are no accidents. This has happened for a reason and funnily enough, I was showing gratitude for my car just a few days ago. It is the nicest vehicle I have ever owned and it makes driving down to see my Dad a dream.

Is the key mark a reminder that material things don’t matter? I know that. But can’t I enjoy having one or two nice things? I mean, my house is a shit hole, I haven’t bought any items of clothing since my wardrobe was Marie Kondo’d and I rarely spend anything on myself nowadays. My cash goes on trips to see my dad, food and bills.

We don’t own the car, we lease it. It goes back in a year’s time and we have to pay for any bumps or scratches, so the new key line is going to cost us dear. Ironically, I’ve been über careful with this car. I go into a cold sweat when I have to park in a tight space and I open the doors as if there were a tiny baby lurking on the other side. Fat lot of good that has done me.

Any road, it is only a car. One of the things I like about it is that I feel safe when behind the wheel. I’m still here in one piece, so it has served me well and the only people on earth who care less about the new scratch are myself and my husband – because we have to pay for it.

It’s depressing to think that another person got satisfaction from scratching our car. What is wrong with people? Yes, I know, it’s a middle-class 4×4, aka a target on wheels and it probably makes us appear richer than we really are. Was it jealousy? Boredom? Or perhaps one of the neighbours has taken a dislike to me? We will never know.

Knife crime

Even more depressing, I just got an e-mail from my daughter’s school to say that pupils are being robbed at knifepoint in our locale. Since when was it okay to target kids in school uniform – with a knife FFS!? I am irritated because it’s hard enough not to wrap them in cotton wool without this sort of thing going on.

It’s life though isn’t it?  One minute, I am marvelling at nature, dizzy over the beauty of a spray of white blossom, the next, I’m worried that one of my kids is going to be stabbed. There’s only one thing to do. Take a deep breath, close my eyes and remind myself that in this moment right now, everything is okay. There’s food in my belly, a roof over my head and my loved ones are safe and well. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to strangle the phantom car keyer. If I were being truly spiritual, I’d say the H’oponopono prayer and forgive them, but I’m not there yet…by a long stretch!