The old me would have sat in the car with the kids, the heat running, and waited for rescue.

Garlic-lemon egg salad was chilling quietly in the fridge, sliced red cabbage rested under plastic wrap on my counter ready to steam in the microwave, washed mixed greens breathed quietly in my salad spinner, and the bread machine was set to produce a loaf of "French" in ninety minutes.  I was driving to the Y with the kids; Mark was to meet me there on his bike; I was to swim, he was to lift, the kids were to play in the daycare and Oscar was to finish his schoolwork, and then we were to go home and eat the dinner.

My left front tire had other plans.   

I called Mark from the side of the road. "I'm already halfway there.  It's not dark yet.  Should I walk the rest of the way with the kids, and we'll deal with it after?  Or should we deal with it now and I'll swim after dinner?  Or –" reluctantly — "I guess I could skip my swim."

He offered to bike home, get his car, come back, and change my tire.  I know a good deal when I hear one.  "Out of the car, kids!"  It was cold, but we all had coats, and MJ was wearing her new pink socks on her hands (yes, she also had some on her feet).  I locked it up and we walked the several blocks to the Y, where I dropped off the kids and had my swim.

It wasn't till much later that it even occurred to me that this was a pretty big change from before.  Not that I'm unable to change a tire if I had to (although, since I've never had to do it in the Sienna, it probably would have taken me a while to, for example, extract the spare tire, which rides around outside underneath).  More that, when I realized I had a flat, my first thought was How am I going to get my swim in now?  and not Oh well, I guess I won't be able to or even  Yay!  An excuse not to swim!   

Not to mention that it immediately seemed like the best solution to walk half a mile in the cold with my three children, one a toddler, crossing busy streets at rush hour in twilight.

Habit is definitely mutable.

One reason I'm giving a second look to Jen at Conversion Diary's post from earlier this week about building habits of reflection and prayer.   If I can become a person who exercises two to three times a week, then I can become a person who… well, almost anything that's important.   The confidence it's given me has astonished me.

It occurs to me that my husband would like me to become a person who remembers to turn the lights off when I leave the room.  Well, maybe I should start there.