"Man, that truck sure looks familiar." On a bright, sunny day I had just walked out of an Arlington, VA building. The warm feeling of accomplishment was over me as I had just registering for a charity walk. My daughter, who was about 3 at the time, was bouncing along with me. But that truck. The same grey color. The same kind of wheels. Wait. Is that the same license plate? And why is it on the back of a tow truck? I had disobeyed a fundamental rule for living in the Washington DC area: There is no such thing as a 'free' parking space. After frantic negations with the driver, I was able to broker a deal to get my truck back on the spot.

I arrived at my second stop of the day, feeling pretty good about not having to walk there. This time we are at a cookout in a park in DC. I park on the side of the road, and cross the street to the cookout. About an hour into my time there, I now see the red and blue lights of the police parked behind the cars near where I had parked. He's out, asking questions, and looking at license plates. Seriously? Twice in one day I'm parked in the wrong spot? Lucky, this time it was just a request to move somewhere else. Easy fix.

Finally, I made it home to a parking spot that was reserved for me. I knew where I was supposed to be. No tow trucks coming for me. No police officers telling me to move. Nice and safe. I had made it to the right spot. Have you spent some time in your life looking for your right spot? Many times we have periods in life that we feel like we are going place to place and not belonging there. Whether it be a major conflict of priorities, or just the wrong place at the wrong time, we will always find there are places we don’t quite fit. What do you do? Much like my parking lot adventure, put yourself in gear and drive to the next place. Not fitting in at one spot, doesn't mean you can't fit in somewhere else. Everyone has a spot reserved just for them.

About the Author

NICK BASKERVILLE has had the honor of serving in the United States Air Force for 10 years, followed by 4 years in the United States Air Force Reserves. He attained the rank of Technical Sergeant (E-6). Nick also has 16 years of fire service time, with 13 years of that being in a career department in Northern Virginia. Nick has had the opportunity to hold positions in the Company Officer's section of the Virginia Fire Chief's Association (VFCA), The Virginia Fire Officer's Academy (VFOA) staff, and in the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABPFF) as a chapter president, a Health and Wellness committee member, and one of the IABPFF representatives to the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Alliance.