On Thursday mornings we have a collaberation meeting at work. The first item on the agenda is always "Celebrations." We go around the group and everyone shares a "celebration." It may be as big as "I have a new grandbaby!" or as simple as "I found cake mixes on sale at Macey's!" It may be work-related--"Jacob passed the rate and accuracy check!", family-related--"My daughter got third place in the spelling bee", or personal--"I'm finally feeling better after being sick for a week." (By the way, those are all actual celebrations I've heard this year--can you guess which ones were mine!)
So, today, as I was driving to work, I was thinking about my celebration for the week. What could I share? I could celebrate that I have dragged myself out of bed for a walk every morning now for nearly three weeks--except that I was UP two pounds this morning when I stepped on the scales :( (Go ahead, tell me that muscle weighs more than fat. I know. I've already heard.)
I could celebrate that Danny got his private pilot's license this week. But--for me--is that really something to celebrate since that means that he spends time FLYING IN THE AIR!!!! (I also know that statisically he's safer up there than on 1-15--but it just doesn't feel that way.) Not to mention that he's probably going to be moving soon to a place where he won't be able to come for Sunday dinner :(
I could celebrate how Eric aced his GRE, but that was a few weeks ago . . . or how I cut out the fabric for the sister skirts for Julie's wedding . . .
At about this point, I look up and notice a car behind me. "Hmmm. That looks kind of like a police car," I think. "Good thing my registration isn't expired." I press on the gas pedal and glance in my rearview mirror again and HIS LIGHTS ARE FLASHING!!!!! I pull over and wonder if something is wrong with the car. Maybe he noticed my brake lights aren't working or something. Nice of him to let me know. Maybe that will be my celebration.
Or not. He says I failed to come to a full, complete stop at the stop sign on the corner, just before I made a right turn. I hand him my license and registration and wait. While I'm waiting, I decide that my celebration will be that he gave me a warning when he could have given me a ticket.
Wrong again. He gave me a ticket. "We just need you to be careful stopping, especially with all the kids in this neighborhood going to school." Say what? It's 8:50. I'm now late for work, thanks to you, and all the kiddies are IN SCHOOL since school starts at 8:30. There is NO ONE on the street.
Ah well. I plead guilty. Apparently I didn't fully stop. I was in a hurry. I looked and no one was there. (Except him, obviously.) But I promise I would have been fully impressed by just the flashing lights and reprimand. The ticket was completely unnecessary.
My celebration? I asked if I could give an "uncelebration" and told my sad story.
