Ever had one of those mornings?
The day started with an alarm that was summarily ignored. It wasn’t a conscious decision, more of a wake up 50 minutes late and leap out of bed in a panic situation. Unfortunately, when I’m in a rush, that’s a guarantee that at least one of the boys is going to be slow as molasses. It was Eric. (It usually is.) In the bum rush out the door, I grabbed the box of calendars and cards I’d had printed for the holidays that I’ve been meaning to grab all week so I can get them in the mail.
I swear there is some kind of time warp every December that makes days just disappear.
I set them on the roof of the car so I wouldn’t forget them and buckled the boys into their car seats, and finally at about 7:10 I pulled out of the driveway. (Do note, I start my work day at 7. How’s that math?) Drop off was smooth at school, and away to work I went.
It wasn’t until I was walking in the door to the office that I realized I’d missed a vital step. Those cards and calendars? Yeah, they never made it into the car. I glance out at the parking lot uselessly; there is no way they made it all the way to the office still on the car, but I had to look anyway. I even went out to the car and searched around inside to verify that I hadn’t grabbed them and not even thought about it.
The kicker is that when I set them up there, the thought crossed my mind that I should go ahead and throw them in before I forget them and drive off. Oh no, I won’t do that, I told myself. They’re right at eye level. There’s no way I’d forget.
I sat down to do a few quick revisions to something I’d started yesterday at work, then hit the road again, back tracking. I made it all the way home, checked the garage and inside quickly (Maybe I took them back inside and put them on the table? No…), then started back toward work, retracing my path.
Pulling out onto the main street, I passed what looked like the envelope the cards had been in sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. There was nowhere to stop and get out, and traffic was too busy, so I pulled up to the next corner a couple blocks up (it is a stretch in front of a large field for a school) and turned the corner I usually do on the way to the boys’ daycare.
There are papers scattered on the street, and a small, flat cardboard box. A quick pull into a parking lot later, I’m out on the street, picking up pages of my calendars one by one. What survived on the coils is beaten, battered, ripped, and torn, and the coils are totally flattened.
A long, cold walk in 10 degrees below freezing later, I learn it is indeed the envelope of cards, and miraculously, none have fallen out and they are in pristine condition.
I made my way back to the car grasping onto that silver lining, text John my findings, and glance at the clock. It’s 8:50. I have a 9am conference call. Great. Deciding I’m cold, and already late, I pull into the McDonalds drive through and order myself a hot chocolate. I get it, pull up to a red light, and take a sip.
I don’t even know how or why, but I ended up with it all over my lap.
…At that point, I just laughed.
