Can I Have a Do-Over?

Have you ever done something, something really, well, let’s just say it: something really stupid. And you wished so much that you could have a do-over? That happened to me just this morning. Well, really, last night. Let me explain.

It all started a few days ago when the strap of my purse broke. I had just received it last month for my birthday from mom. It really wasn’t the purse’s fault. I have a tendency to overstuff my purses until they cry for mercy. Apparently, I didn’t hear the cries of this one until it was too late. (If you’ve seen my You Tube clip, you know I’m not the most organized person when it comes to what I keep in my purse!)

So, having no purse, I decided the next best thing (at least until my next purse-shopping trip) would be to put all my necessities in my pockets. As you can imagine, I really had a hard time making the choice of what to take with me: house keys, car keys, driver’s license, debit card, lipstick, ink pen….you get the picture. By now, my pockets were full. In fact, bulging. From time to time, when I’d sit down, things would fall out and I’d have to recover them and stuff them back in.

Last night, it was time to do the laundry. It was way overdue so the washer was pretty full. (Not to worry; I don’t stuff the washer like I stuff my purse!) It had my best dress pants and blouses in there and a little something that I didn’t discover until the next morning when I took a few things out of the dryer. A little something I’d left in my pocket: a tube of lipstick. Red lipstick.

Only now, the tube was empty.

At that moment of discovery, oh how I wanted a do-over!

I gingerly pulled out each item, separating them into piles of clothes that were okay and clothes that had red lipstick marks on them. Fortunately, only about a third of the clothes were marked.
Sometimes we do things, unintentionally, that have disastrous, or at best unsatisfactory, results. Sometimes we wish we could have a do-over. Sometimes it’s a lot worse than having to replace part of your wardrobe. Maybe you took a career path that didn’t satisfy, voiced an opinion that hurt someone, lost a treasured memento. The key is to move forward. While a do-over would be great, it’s not going to happen. My mother used to say, “Don’t cry over spilled milk.” She encouraged me not to stay in that moment, the one where I messed up, but to move forward and be proactive. Once something has happened, all we can do is move forward, clean up the mess, apologize to the one we hurt or remember to check our pockets before putting clothes in the wash!

So, today, as I write this, I have some of my favorite clothes, lipstick-stained, soaking in the washer. And while I’m hoping that will remedy the situation, I’m prepared to hit up the local thrift store if it doesn’t. (I love thrift store shopping, but that’s a whole ‘nuther story!)

Or, as a friend suggested for a solution, maybe I’ll just Google it!

Rock on,
Jean
www.jeanbaileyrobor.com