A Rookie Mistake

You guys – I can’t believe I did this. I’m so embarrassed. How can I describe myself as an avid and voracious reader and then pull a stunt like this?! Seriously, what was I thinking? I left my house without a book, a Kindle, or my earbuds to listen to something on Audible. And there I was at my son’s swim meet during a rain delay with nothing to read.

I know. I know. I’m just as shocked as you are. It was just last night that I picked up Katy Tur’s brand new memoir, Rough Draft. I waited in line for almost an hour for her to sign it. When I got home, I placed the book on my nightstand so that I would read it before bedtime. That’s where I went wrong. I took the book out of the car and brought it into the house, leaving me with no reading material whatsoever.

This is such a rookie mistake for me. I ALWAYS bring something to read. I’m never without an emergency page-turner in my drawstring bag. And in a real pinch, I can usually rely on an old magazine in the back seat of my car that I can dust off and catch up on the latest gossip. I dug around the seat cushions, underneath the seats, and even checked the trunk to no avail.

I was lost. I had free time and nothing to read. My heart was in my stomach, and a cold chill ran down my back.* I’m not used to feeling this empty inside. I quickly turned to my iPhone and opened the New York Times app for today’s news. This was the perfect time to catch up on some articles until the meet resumed. But then I realized I had another problem – I forgot my reading glasses at home too.

UGH! Now, what was I going to do? Talk to my husband? I supposed we could have engaged in a little light conversation. Sadly, he was entertaining himself with endless Facebook Reels. When he showed me a clip of a dog licking a sign advertising ice cream cones, I knew we weren’t on the same page. (Thank you – I’ll be here all night!)

I’m happy to say that I survived. I took out my contacts to read the small print on my phone screen. I eeked out two articles before I decided to close my eyes and listen to the radio. I’ve learned my lesson, although I thought I had already learned it during the long car ride to Grandmom’s house in the summer of ’87. That was a rough night. I don’t like to talk about it much.

Now, if you will excuse me, I must prepare my drawstring bag with two (maybe three) books, a few magazines, and my reading glasses. Next time, I won’t leave home without it.

*Okay, some descriptions in this blog post were embellished for dramatic effect. 🙂 

Look at all of the books I could have been reading!