When Things Don't Go As Planned

As I've said before, I am I firm believer in sharing my embarrassing moments, particularly so that others can feel less alone when they have their own. So even though I asked everyone that heard about this not to tell anyone else (so word wouldn't spread about how dumb I am) I realized that I still have to share it. Particularly because of the bright side that came with it.

Because... yum!

Last night after dinner, I decided to take my kids to the local McDonald's for dessert (to celebrate National Strawberry Sundae Day. Because that's the kind of thing that we do.) We're rapidly approaching the end of their summer vacation, so it seemed like a good idea to go out for some fun and enjoy a treat together.

Unfortunately our quick trip down the road didn't go quite as we had planned.

Because, displaying my incredible brilliance, I locked us out of the house. And the car. Yep. The kids and I were in the garage, with my keys hanging securely on their hook in the kitchen. It was one of my worst "I-Can't-Believe-I-Did-That" moments ever.

I felt terrible (and dumb) and of course my less-than-happy reaction upset the kids. But when they started to cry I realized that I had to show them that everything was okay. So first we called my husband, because getting his key was the only way we were getting back in to the house. Then we set about figuring out how to pass the time until he got there to rescue us.

And that's when my son decided that since we couldn't drive to McDonald's, we should walk there. It would be fun, he said. And a good adventure.  I was hesitant, because while the dust storm warning had been cancelled it still looked like there was a good chance of some rain moving in. But that was okay, he said. If it rained, we'd just get wet. No big deal.

I was just starting to consider the idea of giving it a shot, when what he said next convinced me. We needed to do it, he said, "because we should always try to make the most of our situation." As it turns out, he really does listen to me now and then, and he is apparently growing up with the "find a bright side" outlook that I can't ever argue with. It makes a mother very happy.

So we decided to go for it. It was a long walk, and fairly exhausting. But we made it. And we even avoided getting rained on. Plus there was the promise of ice cream to keep us going.

We ended up not walking the entire two miles to McDonald's, once we realized that there was a Dairy Queen on the way (and a half a mile closer.) So we stopped to rest, and wait for my awesome husband to come get us.

And we finally got our sundaes.

And That's When You Know How Terrible You Look

It's been a rough few days, with a chronic pain flair-up really getting me down. So today, when I had to go grocery shopping because I couldn't put it off any longer, wasn't easy. But shopping is a necessary evil, so I forced myself to deal with it.

I was able to get my shopping done (slowly, and gingerly, because that was all I could manage.) But when I got to the check-out line I realized just how exhausted the whole thing had made me. I stood waiting for the cashier to finish, just trying to stay on my feet.

I didn't realize it consciously at the time, but my eyes were only about half open, and I probably looked a little like I would topple over at any second. The cashier actually stopped halfway through asking me if I needed any stamps or ice to ask me if I was okay.

Her concerned expression startled me back into reality, which made me laugh (because sometimes that's all you can do.) I told her I thought that I was about to fall asleep there in her line, which made her laugh (because, as she said, "nobody's ever done that before!")

It was one of those little moments that you have now and then, when you just stand there laughing at nothing in particular with a total stranger, and it manages to brighten your day a little bit. And, seriously... thank goodness for those little moments!

Didn't You See My Post?

Like I've said before, I believe that embarrassing moments should be shared, if for no other reason than to make you feel better about yourself. And to let you know you're not alone (because I would bet that I'm not the only one to be in a situation like this.)

You know how we all have Facebook friends, and then we have Facebook "friends." The people that you worked with, or went to school with, and you were never really friends but you were in the same club or on the same committee so when they sent you a friend request you kind of felt like you had to accept. And it's not like you didn't like them or anything, but it didn't take very long to realize that you really had nothing in common, and you didn't care about any of the stuff they were posting. You couldn't unfriend them, because that would be awkward, so you just hid them from your news feed. Yes, I'm talking about those "friends."

The other day I was out running some errands with the kids, and I ran into one of these "friends" at, of all places, the mall food court. (One of those places where you have no escape, so you're kind of obligated to talk to anyone who stops at your table.) So we had the "long time no see, what have you been up to?" conversation.

At one point, she mentioned her son, to which my first thought was 'oh, I didn't know she had a son.' (Of course I hadn't seen her in several years, so that made sense.) I almost spoke that thought aloud, but fortunately for once my brain decided to work a little bit faster than my mouth, and pointed out to me that she had probably mentioned it a time or two on Facebook. ('Oh, yeah! We're Facebook friends.') Ooops. That would have been awkward!

It's not just me, right?

Embarrassing Moments

I'm of the opinion that our embarrassing moments in life should be shared, if only to make others feel better about themselves. I'm fairly certain that you have done things in your life that made you feel really dumb. I'm equally certain that it brings you at least a certain level of comfort to know that other people have done plenty of things that were just as dumb. And so I share this story with you.

One evening last week I was out running some errands with my family. At one point, because it was going to be a very quick stop, the rest of the family stayed in the car while I ran inside. After being in the store for less than a minute I came back to the car, only to discover that the door was locked. I thought this was odd, and wondered why my husband had locked me out.

It was only then that I looked up and discovered that I had not, in fact, returned to my car. I was standing at the driver's side door of the car parked next to mine, trying to open a complete stranger's door. I was embarrassed, and quite red-faced, but at the same time I was extremely grateful that the door had been locked and the car had been empty. I can only imagine the shock it would have given us both if I had opened that poor woman's door and tried to sit in her lap.

Now, I could try to rationalize the situation by saying that I had gotten the car only a week before, but I have a feeling that nobody would accept that as a valid excuse. And it would definitely be less embarrassing if the car that I had mistakenly gone to had been the same (or even similar) model as the one I drive. But nope. No help there. They weren't even the same color! Yeah, I've got no excuse. Other than the fact that we all have those moments where we just go brainless for a bit.

As the saying goes:

All I could do was join in with the rest of my family as we all had a hearty laugh at my expense. Because as embarrassing as it was, it was still kind of hilarious. So next time you do something that makes you wonder where your brain was hiding and why it temporarily deserted you, try not to feel too bad. It happens to the best of us.