This morning, I walked outside with my flashlight on. 

It was about 3:45 a.m.

I shined the flashlight towards my car. A pair of eyes lit up. 

This terrified me for three seconds before I realized what I was looking at. I was holding eye contact with one of the least deadly animals that lives on my property. 

A deer was standing in front of my parking spot.

I spent a moment considering this. 

I could move forward and scare the deer away. It wouldn’t take much. They are very jumpy animals. I could have waved the flashlight around. Made a loud noise. Stomped my feet on the deck. 

Instead, I stood on the porch and waited a few minutes. Until it walked away on its own. It was freezing and cold, and I watched the deer investigate my carport. 

I had a similar moment like this in winter about a year ago. 

This was at my last job. It was about an hour later than today’s run-in with a deer (maybe 4:45). I walked out to coyotes running around the parking area. I could’ve attempted to scare them away. I just stared at them instead. It was the only day I was ever late. 

Certain things are controllable.

I can leave early. I can prepare for the morning the night before. I can take the fastest route to work. 

Certain things are not controllable.

I don’t want to chase deer or run my risks with coyotes. At that point, I would rather be a couple minutes late. I rolled into work about 4 minutes later than usual (not late but not my regular time). I couldn’t be mad about it. 

It’s fun that traffic isn’t much of a problem. But the forest living in my backyard occasionally interferes with my work schedule. 

There are worse things in the world than waiting for a deer to walk.