The Gas Station Hitch
October 12, 2026 · Blog Entry No. 1
I don't want to start this blog off by telling you my life story. I just happen to have a lesson present itself to me today that times with getting my blog set up on my new website. Today, I went out to get gas, and a simple errand turned into an aggravating little adventure.
I needed gas, and cream. Gas first. I have cash on me for a change and went in to give it to the attendant. She says her till isn't working and that I'd have to use debit at the machine. Not much in the account but I figure I can squeeze $20 out. I do the transaction and a receipt pops out, it was attached to the previous receipt and both fell to the ground. I was ready to pump some gas but the machine was like - and you are...? So I go inside and explain. The girl shrugs. I go back for the receipt. Grab it, confirm it's approved for $20 and go back inside. An even more difficult customer now because I have the evidence. She's still shrugging and says check your account. I can't because I don't have mobile. I drive to the bank. Fuming a bit. Check transactions, nope, didn't come out. That damn receipt though! Then I remembered looking at the machine not giving me my gas and noting the last transaction was for $20 as well. Considering the options at the start of the transaction offer preset options of hundreds of dollars I thought it was funny that two $20 ones were hitting back to back. So the person before me left their receipt for $20 in the slot and my failed one shot down to the ground with it and I grabbed the wrong one. Yeah.
Somewhere along the way, I had gone from a routine errand to a frustrating situation in which I didn't have all the information and couldn't immediately control the outcome.
But here's the thing.
If I'd simply bought my gas, picked up a few groceries, and come home, nothing would have given me a reason to stop and think about my reaction.
Instead, I got an opportunity to observe myself. How was I reacting? How quickly was I judging the situation? How was I handling the frustration of not knowing what was going on?
That's what Embracing the Hitches is about for me.
It isn't about pretending that life's inconveniences are wonderful. Sometimes they're just annoying. It's about recognizing that when something throws us off course, we have an opportunity to learn something—not only about the situation, but about ourselves.
Today, the gas station didn't just give me a story to tell. It gave me something to think about.
And that's a hitch worth embracing.