UFF DA!! Perspectives on the "half-glass" paradigm...

 

"I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents; we're all teachers - if we're willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door." 

-Marla Gibbs

This quote sums up a particular way of thinking and a belief we both hold true. Along those lines, for those of you who are not from Minnesota or Norway, we'd like to share some of what we have learned about the culturally unique connotations of the phrase "UFF-DA!"  We had never heard this expression until we visited the Chapel In The Hills in Rapid City SD back in June - so in a way this blog post is more than four months in the making!

While there is no literal translation for "UFF-DA!" according to the website Life In Norway it can be used "to express compassion for something unfortunate that happened – but not too unfortunate." along with "a whole gamut of emotions from surprise to dismay, via exhaustion and astonishment." For us, the phrase has become a short-hand 'cue' to take a mini timeout and reflect on what just happened - and more importantly how we are going to react to the situation.

We've had several "UFF-DA" incidents over the past 6 months as you would imagine. One early example was when Jer cracked off a canine crown five days before we left Illinois - and then finding out that it would have to be repaired with an implant in Seattle.  It was recommended to have the surgery done at UW SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY  which is one of the top rated dental schools in the US. That said, it was very difficult to even qualify for an appointment, even with referrals (fully warned on the front end).  However, when Jer finally got his appointment in August, it was with the Chair of the Dental School! No interns, he got one of the top rated oral surgeons in the country... UFF-DA! 

Another example of UFF-DA in action was on our trip from Los Angeles to San Mateo traveling on Interstate 5. We realized that with the amount of driving we do, it was likely that sooner or later we would get a flat tire (even though our tires are only seven months old). And as the deck was proverbially dealt, one of our tires blew out at 75 mph smack dab in the middle of the desert - literally.  UFF-DA! 

We called AAA and were given a guesstimate of a three hour wait. But, it didn't go that way. Five minutes later, a CHP officer pulled up to check on us. He asked if we had called for assistance... we said yes, but we knew we'd be there quite a while. He smiled knowingly, asked for our AAA card, and called them directly. In less than 30 minutes our tow truck arrived - guess it pays to know people who have the inside track! 

Juan, the tow truck driver, was friendly and took care to pull our injured Audi onto his flatbed. He drove us directly to Rudy's Tire Shop up the road in Kettleman so we could buy a tire (ours was totally destroyed).  He also told us that we were lucky to get a "Brown Bear" instead of a "Panda" stopping to help us. We learned that a "Brown Bear" is a senior officer and carried a lot of clout in their role as guardians of the highway. After our tow arrived, the officer "covered our six" with his flashers to provide a buffer to the ongoing freeway traffic. Thank you sir!

At first we were taken aback when we arrived at Rudy's... sort of like arriving at Sanford and Son's yard - Latino Style!   Tires piled up everywhere, an open tin-roofed center area for his tools and two worn office chairs in the driveway where Rudy told us to sit.  

He then turned on the mobile air conditioning unit with it's commercial grade fan that looked like a prop from a small plane and a couple adorable newborn kitties showed up to entertain us - we smiled at each other, UFF-DA!  

It had been a while since either of us had visited a restroom, so we took advantage of using the most unique 'outhouse' we'd ever seen - more like a tiny home - plumbed toilet and legit running water sink and even pics on the wall!

In the meantime, we had the pleasure and happy surprise of watching a master craftsman at work - woulda made the NASCAR pit crews proud of Rudy! He quickly removed the tire, whistling a tune as he worked and effortlessly mounted the new tire on our "Gray Panther." In less than 20 minutes total,  we were back on the road heading toward Gilroy. Our CHP officer had recommended that we take the scenic route and stop for lunch in "the garlic capital of the world."

As we ate lunch in Gilroy (note: you'll know you're approaching Gilroy at least a mile out - the garlic wafts it way into the surrounding area from the garlic processing plants scattered around the town), we reflected on the serendipity of these events. For what easily could have been very unpleasant set of experiences turned into a wonderful adventure that generated heaping portions of gratitude.  Viktor Frankl once said, "Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space lies our freedom and power to choose our responses. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” 

From these examples and many others, we've been happily reminded that life is truly about how we approach it. Adversity or Opportunity? Now, since our visit to the Chapel in the Hills, when we encounter a challenging situation, we pause and utter the phrase that reminds us to take a deeper breath and keep our focus on the possibilities... UFF-DA!

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Photo descriptions

1) Hat purchased at the Chapel In The Hills gift shop; room key from La Quinta in Loveland CO where the manager got us checked in early because of a fluke accident that took out Phyl's knee for a couple days. Loveland's now one of our favorite towns!

2) Chapel In The Hills w/ bell tower Rapid City SD.

3) Jer with Dr. Dodson at University of Washington's Northwest Center for Oral and Facial Surgery in Seattle

4) Phyl with our "Brown Bear" CHP officer who expedited our tow. Blessings to him.

5)  Rudy and his kitties hard at work and play.

6) The finest "outhouse" we have ever sat in!

7) Walking meditational path behind the Chapel In The Hills