The Day I Received a Hug at Oregon's DEQ

It's been quite some time since I've felt compelled to sit down and pound out a blog post, however recently I've been inspired to write about the day I received a hug at the Clackamas, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Source of Photo: http://claysautoservice.com/deq-emission-testing/oregon-deq-hillsboro/

As some of you are aware, earlier this month I planned a charity event for Run for Congo Women (Team Congo PDX's Group 10K & 5K Walk/Run), and about a week before my event it was time to take my car to the DEQ for an inspection & to renew my registration (in Oregon you can do both at DEQ).

Let's step back a moment.  A week before my event I was a tad stressed.  Actually, that's an understatement. I was SUPER stressed, which was most notably manifested through my inability to handle any of life's derailments.  I did not have the capacity to let anything roll off of my back (my poor family and friends!).  I had been working on the event since September 2012, and the two months before the event were intense.  Every spare moment was filled with event planning details: before work, during breaks, after work and late into the evening. 

My day job is also often intense (I'm a litigation paralegal), and in addition to the regular-course stresses of the job, our office had undergone some transitions in personnel, and so work was a little more intense and stressful than usual.

Now, back to the day I went to the DEQ.  It was a peaceful Saturday morning, and I quite enjoyed the drive to the DEQ.  My mind was awhirl the entire drive with event todos for later in the day.  I pulled into the DEQ, pulled into Lane 5, and was relieved to see that the wait would not be long.  Soon it would be my turn...

The DEQ check started out well until the DEQ employee took a look at my paperwork. The DEQ employee looked at my car, and then back at the paperwork, quizzically.  A moment later it came to light that I had brought the incorrect paperwork.  Two cars in our household were due for DEQ/registration renewals, and I had neglected to make sure I had the correct paperwork! 

Gah!

I began to feel as though I was going to lose it, but composed myself when I realized that the DEQ inspection could go forward, I'd just have to send-in my registration renewal paperwork via mail.

No problem.  Just breathe, and remain calm. 

 

The DEQ employee announced that my car passed, and that I could now pay for the inspection.  There. Was. Just. One. Problem. I brought a check, but the DEQ (unlike the DMV), does not take checks, they only take cash or debit (the DMV, ironically, does not accept debit).

Are you kidding me? 

 

 Naturally, I did not bring my debit card (and at this point did not realize I actually had enough cash on me).  The DEQ employee nicely acknowledged that the "no check" policy was both confusing and inconvenient, but that the paperwork did state no checks.

Obviously I did not read it closely.

Meanwhile, my eyes were tearing up and I was in the midst of a full-on stress meltdown. I could only feel that this was not going as smoothly as planned, and could not see my way to a workaround (hence the pre-event SUPER stressed mindset).  I quietly, while holding back my tears, got into my car so that I could compose myself to figure out what to do.  "Drive safe..., "  is what I heard the DEQ employee say as I closed my car door.

Thankfully, there was a bank down the street & so I went in to get some cash.  The teller who waited on me had experienced the same annoyance the last time she went to DEQ (I have a feeling this bank sees a lot of DEQ-frustrated people).  I left with cash in hand to drive back down the road to the DEQ.

See, everything will be okay after all!

 

As I pulled into the DEQ (again), the gentleman at the gate paused a minute when I rolled down my window (he had just waived me through about 15 minutes prior...).  I told him I was back for round two & he sent me to Lane 2 where the wait, thankfully, was not long.

 

I got out and explained to the female DEQ employee that I had just been through, and no the paperwork was not correct, however, I'd like to pay for the inspection. 

 

And in that moment I lost it.  I just started to cry...
 

The DEQ employee came around out from her station, opened her arms & gave me a big hug, and told me everything would be alright.

And of course it was--I mean it wasn't like I wouldn't be able to renew my registration, and for goodness sakes my car passed!
 

I was too wrapped up in my stress meltdown to feel embarrassed or self conscious.  I simply felt relieved to be done with the DEQ trip, and heart warmed that this employee, who works with the public in a setting that brings out the worst in many of us, would take the time to comfort me.

I made the trek back to DEQ this weekend for car #2, and I find it no coincidence that I was waived to the lane of the same female DEQ employee who gave me a hug on that fateful day. Not surprisingly, she remembered me, and I was able to thank her for her kindness shown in a moment when I needed it most.