By Rosie Preston
One wrong move on a certain morning caused a ripple effect on the rest of the day. May I explain?
The alarm clock woke me at 5 a.m. and I jumped into the shower. After using my towel, I threw it over the shower rod. The towel hit the bathroom light, which shattered to the floor. In total darkness, I stumbled into the hall, where the lights were also out.
I had blown a fuse.
After fumbling around, I found my bathrobe and my car keys, knowing I had a flashlight in the car. I then closed the door and locked the keys in the car. For a minute, I forgotten that I had hidden a back door key under some rock. I went behind my house to find it, and there it was – I was saved!
My grandchildren were waiting for me to drive across town and deliver them to daycare. So I didn’t have time to do anything but put on my clothes and take off towards Hokes Bluff.
My grandson Preston met me at the door. He looked at me strangely as he said, “Nana, your hair is wet and you don’t have on your pan-cake!”
It always surprises me that my grandchildren watch me so closely, even more so than their mother did. It seems they like to point out any little difference or something they consider to be a mistake.
Dropping the children off at the daycare only took a few minutes but I was in a hurry to get home and get dressed for the day. I stopped my car behind a low trailer being pulled by a truck and applied my lipstick. This little act distracted me just enough to forget about the trailer, so when the light changed to green, I rear-ended it.
When the police arrived, I tried to explain that the trailer didn’t have one of those flags and and there was no way I could have seen it. During my pity party, it started to rain, of course.
My hair was really soaking wet by now but the officer showed little empathy for my dilemma. I was handed a ticket. I had tears in my eyes as I drove away and I already was late for work. I had learned my lesson after receiving a ticket, however, and drove home slowly.
It seemed an eternity when I finally arrived at the office. I was determined to have a good day. I walked in the door to find a co-worker red in the face. The first thing she said to me was, “You always jam the copier.”
“I can fix it,” I replied.
The look on her face told me I’d better give her clearance. I went to my desk and retrieved my daily workload.
I left the office broken-hearted, ashamed, embarrassed, and knew I should take a short break before I started selling advertising. I stopped at a local coffee shop, and of all the people to follow me inside was my boss! He purposely looked at his wristwatch and lifted his eyebrows as if to say the time was 10 a.m.
When the waitress brought my coffee, I quietly asked her to change it to a ‘to-go’ cup and got out of there as fast as possible. My boss was a good sport, so I wasn’t worried; I just hadn’t expected to see him.
“Good luck with your new client,” he said as I walked by his table.
On my way to my car, I thought that it could have been a lot worse. I could have gone outside with only a towel around me, the hidden key might have never been found, I could have damaged my car bumper instead of getting by with a small scratch and I could have cried in front of my boss and ruined my pan-cake!”
The day wasn’t a complete loss, as the sun did start to shine. My new client bought advertising, and instead of feeling defeated, I regained my confidence. My first stop on the way home was to buy several new keys, an umbrella and extra flashlights.
This day may have started out with me slinging a towel and killing a fuse, but when I picked up my grandchildren from daycare, my grandson immediately noticed I’d dried my hair and applied my pan-cake.
“Nana, you look better,” he remarked. “Could you stop at the store and buy us ice cream?”
I replied, “Yes, ice cream sounds really delicious right now!”
Keep Smiling, Rosie
Please e-mail at rosie.preston@yahoo.com and visit www.life101rosie.com to let me know your opinion of any of the articles I write.