Do you know anyone who’s ever received two ticket violations on the same day?  I do!  ME!  It happened last week.  My first thought afterward was, “Oh no…this is going to cost me!!!”  But seriously, my second thought was, “There is a blog in this somewhere!” 🙂

On Thursday morning I had a delightful time catching up with a dear friend of mine, while sippin’ latte’s in Lafayette.  Time got away from me, and before I knew it, I was six minutes late to my parking meter!  Just six minutes!!  Sure enough…there it was sitting in my wiper blade…an ugly little parking ticket!  Ugh!!  Suddenly, I felt like a criminal.  It was not a cheap ticket either!  I grabbed the ticket like a shamed puppy with it’s tail between it’s legs, hunkered down so no one would notice, got in my car, and drove home.  As I drove home, it felt like the world was scowling at me!!  Everyone somehow knew!! 😉

But…I was determined not to let it ruin my day.  I had a great morning with my sweet friend and I was going to focus on THAT!  After all, it was Thursday, my day off of work and I was going to enjoy the rest of it!

However, I should have just stayed home.

Later that afternoon, after leaving my daughter’s first orthodontic appointment, and being told braces were in our immediate future, we decided it would be fun to call Grandma and tell her all about it!  I dialed the number, put it on speaker and held the phone up a little so the kids could talk to her while I drove the car on the straight, slow, stop-light ridden Crow Canyon Road.  My eyes never left the front as we drove.  You can see what’s coming, right?  Well, so did the motorcycle cop who motioned for me to pull over!

I felt like scum.  My hand was caught in the cookie jar!!  I knew I was in the wrong.  Worse than the ticket I was about to receive was the knowing that I was modeling cell phone/driving to my kiddos!  I wanted to crawl in a hole…but I had to get my ticket from the officer first.  😦  After handing me my ticket, I did, however, do what anyone else in my position would do…check my car to make sure I didn’t have flags waving or a target on the back of it. 🙂  How does one get two tickets in one day?? Who DOES THAT?  Well, me, apparently.

I would have cried, but I was a hardened criminal by this point, and we criminals don’t get teary-eyed!  Ha! Ha!  Okay, I’m not being completely honest.  I actually cried a little after the ticket.  That officer was  a little intimidating.  Plus, I felt like a naughty child.  If it weren’t for the sweet little voice from the backseat saying, “It’s okay, Mommy.  It’s okay…” I would have lost it.  I turned around and began to tell my kids that what I did was wrong.  We talked about it all, and I made sure they were okay…but I drove home quiet and sulky.  I wanted to chuck the phone out the window with such gusto…but no…wait!  I would have to check Facebook from it later, and my email, and check for voice mail…you know…IMPORTANT things.  Needless to say, changes are being made for me…by me.

My middle child told me at dinnertime, “Mom, this wasn’t your day today, was it?” 🙂  I looked up at her from my dinner plate, smiled at her in agreement, and confessed to her that, “no, it wasn’t Mommy’s best day.  Even Mommies make mistakes.”

But that’s all they were…mistakes.  Mistakes are good…they are how we learn and grow, right?  Teacher friends…I have a “Growth Mindset” now… 😉  By dinnertime, I had come to have a little more grace for myself…and also to realize several “truths” about my day:

1.  It does not help to beat oneself up…truly.  You just feel worse.
2. I am human…and therefore will frequently do stupid things. 🙂  Okay, that one I already knew!
3.  I am still a good mommy…not perfect…but good.
4. Traffic school is in my future…yep!  A harsh truth.  Still want to cry over that one!  Ugh!!!
5. Jesus loves me no matter what!  I may not be my own biggest fan in this moment, but Jesus is crazy in love with me!  That sort of puts things in the right perspective. 🙂  God’s love for me (and you) never changes…even when we do stupid things.

 

Here’s a verse I like to think about…”So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”  Hebrews 4:16

If this blog has any point at all it’s this:  God is gracious and He loves us even when we do stupid things. 😉  You could also say it’s a good reminder to “put enough money in the meter and keep you cell phone in the glove box!”

Hugs,

Tami