April 18

Today, Jack was supposed to compete at a taekwondo tournament down in Fair Park. Since I'm super-wife, I was, of course, going to get up at 7 a.m. to drive down to south Dallas to watch him compete at 9. On a Saturday. Because I love him. Ugh.

Jack left at about 6:30, and after he kissed me goodbye I knew I could sleep in just a little longer, so I hit the snooze button and rolled over.

Later, I was getting ready for the tournament. I put on jeans and a cute pink shirt, and I was about to walk out of the bathroom when I realized that I'd really like to wear earrings for my husband, so I walked back in. I looked around and noticed some music playing.

If I hadn’t been so stubborn,
Been so selfish,
Thought about her more,
Thought about me less...

Where was that music coming from? Did I leave the radio on?

Joked to make her laugh,
Held her when she cried,
A little more of that, maybe I...

"Funny, I don't remember having the radio on while I was getting ready," I thought, as I put the earrings on.

If I'd have loved her this much all along,
Maybe, maybe, yeah maybe,
She wouldn't be gone.

And then I woke up, clock radio blaring. I groggily looked over at the clock. 8:30.

Crap!

I jumped out of bed, ran to the closet, grabbed the jeans I had worn the day before off the floor and threw them on with a much less cute t-shirt than the one from my dream-outfit. I brushed my teeth, pulled my unwashed hair into a ponytail, and called it good.

Since the tournament was out in Fair Park and he had gotten a ride from a friend, Jack wanted me to take his truck instead of my car, so I grabbed the spare key from the hook in the back and ran out the door.

The plan had been to stop by an ATM on the way to the tournament to pick up some cash for the spectator entry fee, though now with a much tighter schedule, it would be more difficult. I stopped at a bank on the way out of town that I thought would have my ATM, which, as it turns out, has been shut down. Fantastic.

I got on the highway and typed the name of my bank into our GPS, and found one a mile away from the highway, so I exited and turned. When I got to the bank, I saw that they didn't have a drive-thru ATM. What kind of bank doesn't have a drive-thru ATM?

Fortunatly, it did have an outside-ATM, which was a good thing since the bank hadn't opened yet. I pulled into a parking space, turned the car off, and shut the door, instinctively locking the manual lock in the same motion.

Realizing the key was still in the ignition as the door was closing, I dove at the side of the truck clumsily to try to stop the door from shutting, but it was too late.

I had just locked myself out of the truck. At the unopened bank. And I definitely would not make it to Jack's tournament now.

At least it wasn't raining.

Except that it was.

So I did what any self-respecting, rational woman would do. I threw a tantrum and tried to open the obviously-locked door.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I yelled, and tried the handle about 20 times. The door stayed shut, and the inventor of the lock rested happily in his grave.

Darn my keyless-entry car that's trained me not to take a key out of the ignition!

Darn Jack's manual locks that have trained me to automatically lock the door when I exited his truck!

Darn the cell phone, purse, key to my own car, and camera, still in the truck!

Darn Jack bringing his set of keys with him to the tournament (even though he didn't need them!)

Darn Jack bringing the extra key MY car to the tournament too!

Fortunately, a really nice gentleman had also parked outside the bank, waiting for it to open. I asked him if I could use his cell phone, and he obliged. First I called Jack to see if he had possibly left his keys at home. Jack probably saw the unknown number and ignored the call. Next, I called and woke my Dad, who groggily answered the phone and agreed to get out of bed and come pick me up.

So I sat out on the tailgate of the truck for a while in the rain.

Finally, I decided to walk to Starbucks, which was nearby, and get myself a coffee. I did, after all, have my debit card. Might as well use it. That made the situation exponentially better.

I waited another half-hour or so on the tailgate, then under the over-hang at the front of the bank, where it was more dry, when the manager of the bank finally came out and offered to let me come inside.

Since my parents would be there any minute, I thanked him but stayed outside so they would see me. Might as well just stay wet at this point. It appears that I wouldn't be going anywhere today anyway.

As I took the last drink of my coffee and watched the cars pass by in the rain, I couldn't help but laugh at myself and think one thing:

At least this will make a good blog entry.