Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Crybaby

Have you ever cried to avoid a traffic ticket?
I can honestly say I have not.
Even after yesterday....

I was pulled over yesterday. It had been a bit of a stressful day...one of those days where everything seems to go wrong.

Let's start at the beginning.
It was the Monday after Daylight Savings and the kids for some reason, didn't seem to sleep any later than usual. But, they were still dragging, and so was I.

Julie's snow boots were soaked from playing outside all weekend, so she couldn't wear them to school on Monday.
Johnny was late to school. I forgot to bring his backpack. Then, I drove an hour and a half to interview a family for a story I'm working on. When I showed up at their house everyone was in their pajamas. They had emailed me while I was making the long trek to their house. They wanted to cancel the interview. Luckily, I convinced them otherwise.

On the long drive home, I was stressed about not getting back in time to pick up Johnny from school, and I was a bit worried about the article. I called my editor on my cell phone to update her on what happened.

Then I get pulled over barely a half mile from Johnny's preschool.

The officer saw me on my cell (even though I was wearing a headset) and thought I was distracted. I had swerved at an intersection, and not stopped completely at a stop sign, he said. 

Even worse...I couldn't find my insurance information.

My mind was racing. My heart was pounding. I couldn't hold it in any longer. First came the sniffles. Then, my lip started to quiver. By the time he finished looking up my information, I didn't even try to pretend I wasn't crying.

I think I scared the poor cop because he warned me verbally, and with a pitying glance sent me on my way.

The tears worked, but that was definitely not my intention. I thought at 35 years old, I could handle a run-in with a traffic cop. But, as he drove away, I sat there whimpering like a wounded pup. Guess I'm still the sensitive softie after all these years.

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