"Is my mom in trouble?"

So when something BAD happens to me, I have the habit of writing about it.

Cuz then I feel better.

So this is about today.

The day was beautiful, the morning was bright.

I dropped Kai off at his preschool. He's been learning lots and I've been so impressed.

"Good bye Kai! Have fun and learn lots!"

Gosh, I'm such a "mom" now, saying the same lame (sweet) things every other mom says.

With a light tune in my heart, I drove to the local Kroger. Tuesday's my shopping day.

I got everything I needed and checked out.

The total rang up to be $65.

I hand the cashier my wad of coupons and watched as the price came down.

Final cost for me? $12. I was ecstatic.

Great trip! I tell myself in my head. This is our week's groceries for a family of four, plus I got a few free CAT foods to donate to some people in our branch.

With a lighter heart, I headed to my all time favorite store.

Target.

I MISSED YOU! I think to myself, being away from this place while I was in Japan was a hard thing to do!

I wandered the aisles snatching up clearance items and clothes for the boys and much needed things, then was ready to go get Kai.

"MAMA!!"

aww, the smile that melts my heart. Someday, I think to myself, he won't even want to acknowledge me. Well, I'm gonna enjoy it for now. I give him a big squeeze and a fat kiss on the cheek.

"Ready to go meet your friends at Chick-fil-a?!" I ask excitedly. We've all been looking forward to it.

We cranked up some kids songs and headed out to meet our friends. Driving along the road, I see a bike coming from the opposite direction. By the time I realized it was a cop motocycle, it was too late, he had flipped a U and had his lights on. "ME?" I thought to myself incredulously. Let me tell you, that out of my decade of driving history, I've only received ONE ticket-and that was when I was 18. I also got pulled over while driving to AZ last year, but luckily, I didn't get a ticket, and that's about it. I've been a clean and good driver.

Well, to say the least, this cop wasn't very nice and I knew I was gonna get it this time.

Mean while, the kids were EXCITED.

"Hi!"

Kai called out from his seat in the back.

"Hi!"

said Jaiden too.

A friendly duo of sons I have.

"Hi!! HI!! Hello!?!"

Again, this cop wasn't a very friendly one.

"HELLO?!?!"

Kai and Jaiden were adamant to get a reply.

"Hi, are you a bike man?"

"Umm, ARE YOU A POLICE?"

The cop's still ignoring my boys and I'm antsy to turn around to hush them.

"Hey!" Kai was puzzled as to why he wasn't getting a reply, because they were plenty LOUD.

I finally turned around and spoke as softly and patiently as I could and in Japanese said;

"Hey kids, be quiet please, mommy's talking to this police man."

"IS MY MOMMY IN TROUBLE?!"

Kai was shocked but sounded pretty excited.

Please do tell me Mr. police man, why my mother is in trouble! He seemed to be amused.

I felt my face get hot with embarrassment or laughter, but this was no time to laugh.

the cop continued to interrogate me with questions.

"HI MR. BIKE POLICE MAN, IS MY MOMMY IN BIG TROUBLE?"

The cop never did crack a smile or even return a simple child's "hello."

JERK.

He wrote me up for two citations. Speeding, and for not having an updated insurance card in the car. Oh, and he said something about my license.

JERK.

Oh well.

Kids sure make things fun huh.

Glad this didn't happen on a day/week where I was on the verge of breaking. I think I handled it pretty well.

It's funny, because when I got pulled over in AZ back in June, my mom laughed at me (not mean). the following week, she got a speeding ticket. Then while in Japan, I laughed at her about it, bragging that although I've been pulled over, I've not received a ticket in a decade. So, it figures this should happen to me.

Anyway, on a random thought, I'm always thinking of how relieved I am that it was ONLY a speeding ticket or a citation. Why you ask? It's a good reminder to me to slow down and really obey traffic laws. It's so much better than if I would have gotten in an accident, or worse, had injured someone. It's a good reminder to us all that laws are really out there for our own safety.

The cop could have been a bit nicer though!

JERK.