I had a lot of free time by myself today, for the first time in a while. Wanting to take advantage of the last few days of good weather before the annual roasting-temperature season, I decided to bike all the way to Marina Mall to watch a movie and used a local bike share app so I wouldn’t have to worry about parking my own bicycle. After the movie, I made the foolish decision to Walk into a Bath and Body Works sale and, because I’m a sucker for reduced-price home scents, bought a couple of candles…forgetting that I’d then need to carry them on a Careem Bike back home.

They weren’t super secure, and (long story short) the bottom of the bag gave out somewhere along the route. My newly-bought, 3-wick Strawberry Pound Cake and Rome Pizzeria candles fell out and shattered on the road.
I quickly parked my bike, ran back, and used the torn bag to carefully pick up the broken jars, which were still somewhat held together by the plastic labels. I set them on the curb and as I stood in the 33°C heat, I wondered whether I should just toss them into the nearby bin. Deciding that I didn’t want to waste them, and considering that the candles themselves were still intact, I went into the nearest restaurant (a Domino’s) and begged for a couple of plastic bags in which to carry my dangerously jagged, food-scented load. Thankfully, the lady at the counter took pity on me and let me have the bags.

Upon reaching home, I tapped into the never-before-used, amateur candlemaker skills I didn’t know I had. First, I put on gloves and laid out some paper to work on. I snipped one side of each plastic label and carefully removed all the larger bits of broken glass. Then, using a big brush, I swept off all the smaller bits and pieces. Once I was sure they were completely free of any glass, I set them down and wondered what to do next.

I remembered that I had recently burned out two of my older 3-wick candles, and realized I could clean out those jars and swap the new ones in. A pot of boiling water was all I needed, and in no time I had my two Frankenstein candles almost as good as new.

Now, in my pizza- and strawberry-pound-cake-scented apartment, I can find this story amusing. While it was still happening, however, it was anything but. I was distressed, uncomfortable, and annoyed.

And of course, as always, I find profound lessons in random, mundane experiences like this.

  1. Think ahead. Lots of unfortunate incidents can be prevented, and hindsight is always 20/20.
  2. Stay calm, breathe, and assess the current situation.
  3. Ask for help. It’s okay!
  4. When unsure, take things one step at a time.
  5. Be resourceful – often, the best solutions are the simplest ones.
  6. It’s perfectly fine to be upset when things go wrong, but it’s also important to laugh when it’s over!