I Really Was Almost Arrested

If you read my previous blog, “The Day I was Nearly Arrested” you know how it goes with me and the local police. You know my crazy fear I’ll somehow have the matching vehicle or some other crazy story like that – I think I read way too many mysteries and watch way too much 24.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I really was pulled over. Here is what happened.

My sister in law and brother had their first baby. I was on a field trip with S2 when I got the call and I began shrieking my joy into the phone. I have been so anticipating the birth of ‘Jr’ (as my brother has fondly called this little guy, so that is what my boys and I called him too) and could not wait to go see him. While nothing truly traumatic happened at birth, they did have to watch the little guy close for nearly five hours. I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see him or not on his first day blinking at the ‘outside world’. But then my sister in law called, she was in desperate need of an m&m flurry and wanted to know if I could bring it to her.

My intentions were great, my life was a bit more chaotic.

Someone came to buy asparagus and I got chatting with her (she’s my favorite asparagus customer) and my hubby was busy with picking asparagus or planting tomatoes or potatoes or something (to be honest, I wasn’t paying much attention that day. Here my hubby has this great looking garden and I show it off to people and he works so hard on it but that day I had one thought…”get to the hospital and get to hold Jr”). Dinner was on the stove, sorta. We were grilling chicken that night and hadn’t yet. And when I looked at the clock after the asparagus sale, I had exactly one hour before the hospital visiting hours were over. We didn’t live far from the hospital, but in this part of the state, you live far even when you live relatively close. Close is less than an hour away, in other words.

I batted my eyes as best I could and asked my Hubby to please feed all the boys for me tonight. Please? Being a Friday night, knowing I was nearly ready to burst, he told me to have a good time. I quickly set the table, making sure all would be as easy on him as possible (like life with four boys is EASY ), changed from grubby farm clothes to hospital worthy clothes and hustled on out of there to deliver ice cream. When a new moma craves something, a new moma really ought to have it.

And oh, the visit was just precious! And Jr was so alert and perfect and I was just overwhelmed by being there.

And I got to stay way past visiting hours!

Being the forever taking photo gal I am, I stopped in at the local Walmart where they have this instant machine that spews out your photos in mere moments. This machine is amazing to me. I had pictures, in my hands, of Jr within mere moments of holding him.

Because I ALWAYS need groceries, I picked out some bacon for breakfast the next morning. And coffee. I could tell already I would be needing coffee. An all day field trip, the excitement of Jr and the late hour told me I’d need more coffee than normal the next day.

It was then the loudspeaker came on letting us all know the store would be closing in 15 minutes. You can guess what the check out looked like. I had plenty of time to buzz an email to my hubby to say I was headed home, what did I ever do before my blackberry? It was then I realized I had never eaten dinner, so I grabbed a snickers while in line. If my boys knew I had eaten candy for dinner, well, there may be a riot here. S4 thinks we can really truly live on watermelon, cookies, marshmallows and chocolate milk alone. Who needs other food than that?

It’s a long, beautiful drive home on roads I know very very very well. I had my Kari Jobe cd in and was just singing along, a little misty eyed at the joy of Jr when I noticed a car right on my tail. He would speed up and then he would lay back, speed up and lay back. Weird. There are no houses on this stretch of road and the car was acting just weird enough that I was formulating my back road get away if need be. I told you, I watch too much 24.

As I was coming around the last bunch of curves before I hit civilization again, the car got right on my bumper. And then the flashing strobes came on. And I was the only vehicle on the road. Those strobes were meant for me.

I pulled over.

I rolled down my window.

I attempted to pull out my drivers license, but my hands were shaking so badly.

And the cop was at my window.

“Hello, ma’am, how are your tonight?”

“F-fine.”

“Ma’am, have you been drinking tonight?”

For a brief moment I was silent. Had he really just asked me that? “Uh, no. No, I have not.”

“Ma’am, two seconds after seeing you I could tell you hadn’t been drinking. But you were hugging that fog line on the road and that is why I pulled you over. Could I get your license and registration, I just have to run it thru since I have you here and then you can be on your way in just a moment.”

I stumbled about and handed it all over to him.

I always thought of myself as a good driver. Maybe I’m not?

I chatted with the police offer when he came back, still quite shaken, explaining I hadn’t been pulled over before (later I recalled I had for a loud muffler, TWELVE years ago, and once I got a lights flash warning to slow down but nothing ever, really, in eleven years or more) and explained I was rather surprised but when I thought on it, I was thankful he had pulled me over. I’d rather he find a drunk driver than not pull over one. Even if this means my driving might be bad…..

He let me go, telling me to have a nice night, and I sat there a moment, just taking it in. Then I slowly moved along home, crazy driver (who turned out to be me, I guess!) – er, police man, no longer behind me.

When I got home – I could not make this up – all my boys and my handsome Hubby were cuddled on the couch watching COPS.

I told you, you can’t make this stuff up.

“Where the dickens you been?” he asked, “Visiting hours were over a long time ago!”

“I got pulled over for drunk driving,” I squeaked.

“Oh….” He was very interested in the particular scene of cops. “Wait, WHAT?” he suddenly asked incredulously.

Yup, I nearly was arrested. Can’t make this stuff up.

And yes, I am now trying to pay careful attention to not hog a fog line, and not cross a yellow line!