Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk.

You think I would learn. I mean, if the kind of thing keeps happening over and over you would think at the moment of decision, one would choose the option that would not end up in disaster. I will explain what I mean in stories. True stories. The first one is a story from the summer I turned sixteen. The second story...well, that happened this morning

Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk

The summer I turned sixteen, I made a trip to the grocery store that no one will EVER let me forget. I had taken and passed the driver's test a week after I turned 16, which was unusual for my parents to have allowed. For some reason, they didn't believe that being 16 was a good enough reason to get a driver's license.

We had a trip planned shortly after my birthday and my parent’s decided that having the license for the trip would be more beneficial. They wanted to have another driver. While this thought process didn’t please my sisters, I was pretty excited. I was the only one who was able to get my license right away. It was a big deal. But, having the license wasn’t a ticket to get to get into a car and drive away without being accompanied by one of the parental units.

Ok then, enough background information. It was just a normal Illinois summer day. Mom was working at the church office on some special project. Dad was working, as usual; if it wasn’t his job at the school district then there was someone who needed his help somewhere. I have no clue what the sisters were doing, but I remember getting a phone call from Mom. She was going to have to be at work later than she expected and really needed some groceries for dinner that night. She asked if I could come over to the church, grab the car, and run and grab the stuff she needed. I was pretty excited. I was going to get to drive all by myself; little did I know the day would forever be ingrained in my memory.

The list itself was not hard. Just a few basics, eggs, milk, butter. I went around the store gathering the things that my mom had requested. I went through the check out, paid and headed to the car. When I got to the car my hands were full of grocery bags, and my keys were in my pocket. So, I set the milk on top of the car.

***Here is where I need to start the learning experience***

The second I did that I laughed to myself and thought. “Wouldn’t it be funny if I left that up there. I can’t do that. I have to remember to put it in the car!!!” Sure enough, after I put the bags in the back seat, I climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. I’d love to tell you that right here, I remember that the milk is sitting on TOP of the car and get out and get it. But, I didn’t. I drove down to the stop sign at the end of the parking lot and lo and behold when I stopped, the milk (due to Newton’s First Law of Motion) continued in it’s path unhindered.

Now, at this point in the story, I am sure there are several people who can relate to what has happened. Putting things on top of the car and forgetting them is not something that is unusual to the human race. But, it’s what happens next that makes my story unique. I think to myself as I sit at that stop sign. “I can’t leave the milk there.” So, I got out to pick it up. However, growing up in the area that I did, our parents had taught us whenever we get out of a car to ALWAYS lock the door. So as I got out of the car to get the milk, I locked my car door and pushed it shut behind me. The problem with that is my keys were still in the ignition, the car was still running and now I was locked out of it.

Carrying a milk carton that was no longer doing its job of containing the milk, I walked over to a root beer stand that was right on the corner.

The conversation went like this.
Me: “Do you have a phone I can use?”
Root beer stand guy: “No.”
Me: “Well…Is there any chance you could make a call for me?”
*odd silence*
Me: “You see that car over there, *points to my car, running at the stop sign* I locked my keys in it and I need to call someone to let me in.”
Root beer stand guy: “Why did you park your car at the stop sign. That’s not a good place. You should move it.” He then notices the milk, starts laughing and agrees to call my mom. I went back to the car and was waving the people around my car. One lady argued with me, “There’s a car there. I can’t go around it” She ended up sitting there for nearly 5 minutes before she finally drove around my car.

The phone call between the root beer guy and my mother sounded like this “Your daughter was driving a *insert description of my mom’s car*” Now for all of you parent’s out there, I bet you can imagine what my mom immediately thought. “Alicia's been in an accident”

She asked one of the church secretaries to drive her over to where I was. Now when my mom found out that it wasn’t what she thought, she seriously doubled over laughing. I was in tears…and mom was laughing…but then I did deserve it. At this point the guy from the Auto detail shop on the other corner came out and said to just put the milk in the bushes, and that he’d take care of it later. “Don’t worry, sweetie” he yelled over his shoulder as he went back to work, “it happens all the time.


Ok. I'll give you a second to stop laughing. Next.

Raspberry Ice Crystal Light...Tan apartment carpet....GAH! I have a headache.

I don't normally leave things out before I go to bed. I like things picked up and put away. I've always been this way. (Mom can tell ya that, drove her NUTS!) But, last night I was tired. Imagine that I was up from 5am on Friday till 11 pm Saturday night and I was tired. As I walked into my bedroom I noticed that I left a glass sitting on a tv tray by my recliner. It wouldn't be that big of the deal, except that the recliner is really in the walkway, so next to the recliner is even more in the walkway, and the glass had bright red Raspberry Ice Crystal Light in it. As I walked into the bedroom and noticed that behind me I thought to myself "That's not good. I can only imagine what that Raspberry Ice would look like on my tan carpet." *Rachel, yeah it looked a LOT like the carpet did when you were here...bah* But instead of taking the 10 extra steps to put the cup in the sink, I just went to bed.

This morning, I walked into my spare bedroom to pick something up, and sure enough on my way back to the bedroom I tripped *see previous post "somtimes I'm clueless and a I'm clumsy"* So, instead of spending my morning reading and being comfy in bed, I've been cleaning my carpet. *SIGH*

Now the moral...If I can have ability to think of these things before they happen. WHY DON'T I DO SOMETHING TO PREVENT IT?!?!?

*Tony, this was my first attempt at recording some of the 'old' stories. You should email me some reminders for some other ones I have*