One parking incident away from a national road rage

We all know the story. Cynthia has asked Geoff at least seven times (no exaggeration) to call the plumber to sort out the leaking geyser in the guest room. He has assured her that he’ll get it done on at least three occasions (the other times he was watching the soccer and didn’t hear her). But he hasn’t called the plumber, really, for no reason at all.

And then, on Wednesday morning, the leak turns into a tsunami. The clean washing on the bed in the guest room gets ruined, the new carpet is now squishy, and it looks like they’ll have to replace the ceiling.

Cynthia is livid. And she loses it at poor Geoff, who is a sweet guy but also pretty useless. She does this just as he is about to leave for the office (in Sandton). She says things she probably doesn’t mean. He retorts with something about how hard he works. She says something about his mother. And he storms out to work.

He has hardly had the time to calm himself down when he arrives at his destination. Under his breath, he’s still muttering something about how she doesn’t appreciate how hard he works, when he spots a massive SUV about to park in his bay. It’s marked “Jeff”, which is irritating enough, but he’s certainly not going to tolerate this guy with all the attitude (and who has never met) pushing him around.

No way, Hozay!

That’s when it gets ugly. SUV guy doesn’t know what hit him. He’s a visitor. The security guard didn’t tell him where to park, and he missed the “Jeff” sign.

South Africa is one parking incident away from a national road rage.

Because 2022 has been that kind of year. Months of load shedding, fear for the future, economic and financial stress, a COVID-19 hangover, and the simple stresses of being human in an imperfect world has depleted us. We’re metaphorically at the end of our tether (not that I know what a tether is).

It’s likely that we say this at the end of every year, but somehow this year end feels more intense. People seem more stressed, more on edge, and more likely to get into an altercation than I have ever seen before. We’re all victims of Geoff’s road rage and we’re all Geoff. We’re the victim and the perpetrator. We’re Cynthia, and we’re the poor shmuck in the SUV simply looking for a place to park.

The frustration at government failure isn’t to be understated. The effort of remaining positive is exhausting. And it takes its toll. Some days, it’s easier to see the magnificence of what surrounds us, and some days it’s more challenging.

At the end of a tiring year, it’s not unreasonable to be depleted. Instead of fighting the turmoil and then fighting each other, we need to give ourselves some slack. Acknowledge that we’re running on empty, accept that we need a holiday, and know that when 2023 rolls around, we’ll be able to see the year ahead filled with infinite possibility, with hope, and with appreciation for everything around us.