And then there are the other moments....
Take the other week. Or leave it, which might be the better option. I was having a LOT of those moments. Feeling ambitious on a busy day, I went to the gym first thing in the morning. However, after my workout and shower, I discovered that I left my phone at home. For a brief moment, I panicked. My list and notes were all on the phone, happily sitting on my desk. I really did not want to backtrack all the way home as the store was just down the street from the gym. Then the panicky moment passed and I laughed and told myself, "Hey, you can remember what you need, don't sweat it." Turns out that I couldn't. We now have multiple cans of green beans. And extra mayo. As well as several unopened jars of olives. We needed milk.
When I returned home from my shopping trip, I discovered that I had put the laundry in the washing machine, but not actually turned it on. Was this an early senior moment?
Dinner was also late.
Note to myself, food cooks better if the oven is turned on.
Not one of my better moments.
Sometimes we bring these wonderful moments on ourselves. Like the time I decided to stop at the bank on the way to violin lesson, the day lesson money was due. Well, I sorta forgot to stop at the bank when I was out running errands earlier, so I didn't really have much choice. NO BIG DEAL. How long could it take to visit an ATM? We left a little early so that we would have plenty of time to stop at the bank near our house. When we arrived at the bank, we discovered our branch was closed. Hmmm, that was odd. Even odder, the ATM was closed. Since when do ATMS close? Okay, okay, no problem, I had time, I would just go to a branch closer to lessons. Mind you, this branch was on the other side of town, but we had to drive to the other side of town for lessons. Our drive took us past the railroad tracks. Where there happened to be a slow freight train. A really loooonnnnngggg freight train. Unusual for that time of day, but again, no problem, I could just use the ATM at the handy bank where I was already sitting in traffic and pay the $3.00 user fee. It would cost a little, but save me time. And it would have saved me time too, except that the ATM kept saying that my pin did not match my User ID. Say what? No way! Time was ticking away and there was still a freight train. I reasoned that if I drove a little out of my way along the tracks to the next town I could stop at a bank there and pick up the needed funds. By then the train should be gone and though we had to drive a longer distance, we would still be on time for the lesson. At that moment, I thought I had it all under control.
Guess again. That bank in the next town happened to be another branch of our bank and it too was also out of operation, along with the ATM machines. Now the train had long since passed (I think it had reached Iowa by this point), so I struck out across the tracks for any bank that was on the way to our appointed lessons. However, I found I was stuck behind what I can only describe as "reluctant" drivers. Those are drivers who insist on doing at least ten miles beneath the speed limit and stopping at all stop signs for a minimum of five minutes, happily waving all other drivers through the intersection. Unfortunately for me, I remained behind these self appointed traffic managers most of the drive through residential neighborhoods where banks do not have subdivision branches for cash strapped moms desperately trying to make it on time for music lessons.
The moments crept on until I finally reached a bank that was open AND had an operating ATM. This time my card was accepted with no issues. Go figure. We arrived at violin lesson not a moment too soon.
There are other moments we cannot help, like the day I agreed to pick my in-laws up from the airport. I had their car and the keys, so I was sure to get there. It was a new car and full of gas, so I had no worries about the drive. I thought about checking to see if the flight was on time, about ten minutes before I had to leave. Guess what, it was expected to be about twenty minutes early, giving me about fifteen minutes to get to the airport. But no biggie. I figured that since the airport is fairly close and my relatives had to go through the time consuming process of customs, I would arrive with moments to spare.
So I hopped in the car, adjusted the seat and the mirrors and started my drive. However, I did not manage to turn the air on before I started driving. At the moment, it had not seemed important, but as I drove, it got a bit warm in the car. Unfortunately, I did not catch a single stop light so that I could fiddle with the dials. Unable to rectify the situation safely, I cracked open the window and turned onto the tollway feeling the fresh air would do me good. It was then I remembered that I was not driving my car and I did not check for an I-Pass to pay the tolls. Nor did I have any change since earlier I had given in to a momentary urge to tidy my purse and had emptied it all into the change basket. Lucky for me they had an I-Pass and I encountered no traffic. I made it to the airport in fantastic time!
Which turned out to be a good thing, since my in-laws had been wheeled through the airport and breezed through customs. That made me right on time to pick them up. Barely. I had a moment of satisfaction as we headed back home. Before I realized I was in the wrong lane and could not get to the correct ramp for the highway. Not wanting to fight with the taxis, I opted to go the wrong direction and turn around at my first opportunity. In short order, I found a wide enough street only a few blocks away and turned off the main roadway intending to do a U-turn on this side street. Unlucky for me, the turning radius on this brand new car was not as tight as the turning radius I enjoyed on the old vehicles I was used to driving, so I bumped up on the curb in the processes. Oops.
I don't want to know what my in-laws were thinking at that moment.
Of course there are other moments. Such as recently when my husband and I decided to surprise my daughter and take her to the circus. We left early so that we might miss rush hour traffic and arrive with enough time to grab some food before the show began. I took a moment before we left to ask my husband if he had the tickets on him. He assured me they were at Will Call and we just had to pick them up. I confirmed he had money as well and decided to leave my purse at home. Who really needs a purse at the circus?
We were successful in missing heavy traffic and arriving early.
I can only imagine how my husband must have felt at the ticket window the moment he was asked for ID to pick up our tickets and realized he didn't have his wallet with him. Which meant he had no ID. The desperation was on his face when he turned to me, but I was having a moment all of my own. Since I had left my purse at home, I had no ID either. Did we even have money? It was a long drive home in rush hour traffic to obtain these items. When the man asked my husband if he had anything on him with his name on it, he sheepishly replied "My phone?"
It was a moment of immense relief when the operator was convinced that the two foolish people standing in front of him with the not so common last name and no clue where the seats were located as we had obtained them through a cast member were really who they said they were and gave us the tickets. At that moment, it restored my faith in my fellow human beings.
A moment later I felt even better when my husband told me he had put the cash in his front pocket so we could afford the hot dogs and other junk food.
These moments are by no means isolated. Should I mention the the moment when I realized I was the responsible adult in the room? Or the moment when I proudly found the address for an appointment to meet someone, only to find out I was a day early? Perhaps another time. For now I am going to laugh at my earlier moments.
With the rapid approach of the holidays, I am making every effort to live in the moment, hoping that those moments are blissful, satisfying, and enjoyable, but taking whatever life gives me.The elf tells me that I will need another cup of coffee.
I hope you will excuse me while I take a moment to investigate what this means.
We don't have an elf on a shelf.
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