Only Me...

I routinely do stupid things. They're always unintentional, but stupid nonetheless. Maybe it's because I have a million kids. Maybe I'm just absent-minded. Regardless, it seems that things like this only happen to me. For example, I once got in the car to drive the kids to school and thought, "Wow, the gas is really low. I better get some as soon as I drop the kids off." I no sooner had the thought than it was gone from my mind. Don't worry. It all came back to me when I ran out of gas driving up a hill on the way home (with 3 little ones in the car). This is one of those stupid things I do. My car has a gas gauge. It even tells you how many miles you can go before it's empty. Duh.


Yesterday, I decided to go into work on my day off. I wanted to get a few things done that a co-worker was helping me with. I dropped the big kids off at school and took the two little ones with me. I decided not to park in the lot because I didn't want to get blocked in. After 2 hours at school, the kids were getting tired and I knew I had to pick Sophie up soon for her early release day. I went out to the street with Charlotte on my hip and Sean holding my hand thinking about the fact that they would take a great nap in the car. Only to find my car gone. And, unless there was a team of thieves who were hard at work emptying that side of the street, it had probably been towed. I don't work on Fridays. I didn't realize that there are some Fridays that are street cleaning days. So, there I stood, two kids, no car and a child who needed to be picked up in less than two hours.


Thank God for my father-in-law (the same person who brought me gas last year)! He tracked down my car at the random lot it had been towed to, picked me up at school, brought me to the tow yard, and I managed to get to Sophie's school with 1 minute to spare. I really need to get him a white horse for the next time he needs to ride to my rescue! 


My favorite part of all of this was the breakdown of the bill from the towing company: 
$90 - towing 
$35 - storage of vehicle (for a whopping 2 hours) 
$15 - towing for 10 miles 
$6.51 - other (what "other" charges could there be?) 
Grand total - $146.51. To go to work on my day off. Ouch. (Side note: I take great pride in the fact that the tow guys told me I was the nicest tow customer they ever had! My new claim to fame.)


The whole thing just makes me laugh. I'm the only person I know who does stupid things like this. I told the story to everyone I talked to yesterday because it was just so ridiculous. When I told my mom, she acted like a real mom and suggested that there was a lesson to be learned from this experience. (I'm sure she was suggesting that I should start reading street signs.) But she is right. Lesson learned: Don't go to work on your day off!