Was it you?

Were you that lady in front of me at the supermarket?

The well dressed lady that asked the check-out lane staff to go back and get you an item you failed to pick up while shopping?

Then, five minutes later, instructing the clerk exactly where the item was, and what it was called, after she couldn't find it, and sending her back?

Then, another five minutes later, telling her no, that wasn't the right kind of water, wrong label, wrong size, sending another check-out employee back to the beverage aisle to find the exact product you wanted, describing in detail where it was in the aisle and what it was next to?

Then, yet another five minutes later, being frustrated that the store staff could not fetch your missing item, and apparently miffed that the check-out clerk finally put a hold on your order and had you stand aside so they could ring through the people who had been standing in line all this time?

My upbringing prevented me from loudly inquiring as to why you did not, 1.) go and get the item yourself, as your mobility did not seem compromised, or 2.) if the former option was for some reason not feasible, finalizing your purchase at the check-out lane and then inquiring at the appropriately-named "Guest Services" counter after your specific bottled water needs.

No, I thought of quite a few things to say, but I smiled politely and waited quietly, moreso than the woman behind me trying to entertain a youngster who was clearly past naptime and needing to get home more urgently than myself.

You know, a simple "Sorry" from you would have prevented me from sharing this story. I can't imagine not apologizing, to the store employees, and to the other patrons waiting, for your curious display.

I've learned that everything happens for a reason, and maybe that day had I been 15 minutes earlier leaving the parking lot, I could have been in a terrible accident. Lady, you could have saved my life that day. But I will still wonder what manner of upbringing you must have had, that you felt that the lowly supermarket clerks were your personal shoppers and your lack of the simplest acknowledgement of the inconvenience you bestowed upon others.

Maybe you should do your shopping online. :)

I'm in big trouble.

I forgot my mother's birthday.

And it was a biggie. A decade marker.

Now, I know WHEN her birthday is, I even know the year. I'm not a total toad. But somehow this year, it was the 10th, and then suddenly it was the 12th. So little happened on Sunday that I never even consulted a calendar, or even my computer's clock, for the date.

So I didn't call her yesterday, on her birthday. I called her today when I realized my egregious error, to grovel and beg forgiveness.

Now moms are funny. Sometimes you KNOW when they're mad.

Other times, it is lurking there... they might say "it's okay" but it really isn't. Or maybe "it's okay" really means it's OKAY and no harm done. She's forgotten my birthday, and she was even there when I was born. She once blamed ME for her forgetting, because I chose to be born on the 1st of the month, and she hadn't changed her calendar yet.

She didn't seem mad. Good. I still feel guilty. So, I inquired as to her day, and if she did anything fun ... and she told me about my sisters taking her out to dinner.

My two sisters called each other, worked it out, made a plan, and took our mother out to dinner for her birthday.

I didn't need to be in on that. "It's okay."

¡

I'm not mad ... just wondering why. We're not some deeply estranged family; we don't talk much, but last I knew I wasn't off the phone list. ;)

Relay Online is here

It is time to start thinking about Relay For Life, hard to believe it is just over 3 months away!

Join a team at your local upcoming event (find it here) ... they are held all over the USA and in 7 other countries. You'll get a personalized URL you can send to your friends and ask them to help you raise money to fight cancer. Cancer kills 1 in 4 Americans, what else is there to know?

Being a team member doesn't cost a thing.
You sign up, you find a few people to donate to ACS, and if you want you walk a few laps at the event in May. I have been hooked since attending my first Relay in 2001. It is truly a life-changing experience. We celebrate survivors, grieve loved ones lost, have fun competitions and work as a team: a full spectrum of emotions over the course of the 24 hour event. We laugh, we cry, we get mad, and we laugh a lot more!

Don't think that it's not a place for kids, either.
They are the life of Relay, with so much spirit and hope. My son is planning to walk over 200 laps (about 50 miles) once again. My daughter is the youngest team captain in the area. She can walk up to someone and tell them about Relay, and walk away with a $10 bill. I've seen it happen.

More about my personal cancer experience here:
www.squidoo.com/relay4er

RFL of Eaton Rapids on myspace here:
www.myspace.com/relay4er

If you prefer to limit your involvement to supporting Relay through a one-time donation, visit my personal webpage here:
www.acsevents.org/relay/mi/eatonrapids/relay4er

Thanks for taking a moment to indulge my passion and to consider the impact you can have on cancer by joining the fight and helping to fund a cure.