Ticket of my Life

So I got a speeding ticket.

Less then a mile from our apartment.

On my way to Walmart.

In a way this is the story of my life.

I'm not a speedster, my friends even make fun of me for how much of a slow poke I am.

Just last week I was telling one of my neighbors how consequences are never delayed with me.

I even said, "If I speed I get a ticket, never fail."

Well I was speeding.

Did I mean to?

No, I was on my way to Walmart on a summer day with a window down (because I can't turn the ac on for fear of over heating the engine) cruisin in my 97 outback.

So how did it happen?

Well on Monday Mark and I started having some car trouble.

A car ride that should have taken us twenty minutes ended up taking over an hour to get home.

Mark didn't want me to be driving the car.

And so that was my first clue.

I was having such a lazy morning, reading in bed, Scott requiring very little of me, bless his heart.

All I wanted to do was stay in bed all day long.

There's my second clue.

But I told myself, "Don't be such a bum today, Caroline. Get out of bed and tell this day who's boss."

So I did.

I got Scott and I quickly ready and away we went, in a car I knew I shouldn't be driving on a day I shouldn't have been out and about.

Well there's this hill down my street.

It's a reasonable 35 up to this hill, then on the down hill it goes to 30.

Mark has told me numerous times to go slow on this hill because at the base of it is the famous East High (High School Musical baby!) and cops love to patrol it.

Where was Mark's little reminder then?

Oh it was at home with his "Don't drive the car!" orders that I had already ignored.

Well, I was so busy looking a the temp gage, making sure that it stays down that I didn't notice the idol bike cop sitting out in the open.

I did however notice one who already had someone over.

I thought about my speed right then and realized I was going too fast.

 So I look in my rear view real quick to see if it's safe to press my break and slow down...

...which is when I noticed the lights behind me.

So I do slow down, right into a stop on the side of the rode to get a wonderful ticket.

As most bike cops sitting out in the open on a speed trap hill he gave me a ticket, no questions asked.

So what do I do?

I turn around and go home crying my eyes out like I did back as a teenager when I used to get tickets each time I sped (is that the right word there? kinda looks and sounds odd).

One can't help but ask at times when they get to fork over $100 dollars and get nothing in return, "WHY?"

Why me? 

Why now?

WHY?!

Well the answer is simple.

I did something wrong and thus should be punished for it.

Justice has to be served as I learned in a talk I gave in sacrament meeting a month ago.

But something that is not present is mercy.

I learned about that too in that same talk and it is missing.

Well who knows.

Maybe Scott and I would have blown up if we kept going.

Maybe we would have gotten into a terrible accident that would have left Scott scarred and I would have had to have my legs amputated because they were crushed.

Graphic, I know, but thoughts like this are comforting as I sign over money that we really didn't have to waist.

Thoughts of how this ticket probably saved mine and Scott's lives.

Well my day was shot after that.

And my morning since it is 5:00 am and I am still restlessly awake agonizing over that stupid piece of yellow paper.

There you have it.

A needlessly long story once again brought to you by Caroline.

I kinda like that sign off, maybe I'll start using it more often.