It seems that I unwittingly issued a challenge to the universe yesterday when I suggested we should always aim for a good day and waxed poetic about the quiet morning I had planned.

We had some excitement on Friday evening when my mother took a tumble at a big box store. To be more exact, she hit her head when an employee knocked her down. She got to take a ride to the hospital in a squad and be subjected to all kinds of tests.

She’s home and not doing super but will hopefully be fine.

Yesterday I ran an errand for her and somehow encountered some of the weirdest situations. We are talking truth is stranger than fiction kind of weird people.

Like the woman who was mad because people kept going ahead of her in line at the grocery store. She was standing off to the side, about three feet from the belt and holding a single bag of carrots. She was just chatting with people, holding her carrots as she educated all who would listen on a specific product she thinks everyone should try. When the man ahead of me asked if she was waiting for someone, she said no and that people kept jumping ahead of her in line. The man kindly indicated she should put her carrots down on the belt so people would know she was in line and she seemed a little indignant that such an act was necessary. She acted like she had never thought of such a thing. Turns out, she and her carrots had been waiting for a while.

Then there was the man who paced in circles, while waiting in line. He had brought Kroger sacks to Aldi and had used them to carry his unpurchased merchandise. That’s fine except that he was swinging those bags while he paced like he was practicing his wind up for a World Series game.

Of course. No one was weirder or more annoying than yours truly. I had been in Marshall’s for ten minutes before I realized I was suffering a wardrobe malfunction. The zipper on my vest had broken and the top half was zipped while the bottom had come undone. Oh. And the cute scarf I had bought on vacation and happily wore out to into public still had the tags hanging off of it.

I looked ridiculous. Sigh.

Oh, yeah. I also somehow lost a jar of marinara from my cart at the grocery. I watched it fall, in slow motion, before slamming into the floor and blistering into about a hundred pieces that went far, far from where I was standing in that awful line.

The cashier, bless her, didn’t blink or even say a word. She simply called for someone to come clean it up.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. It was an odd day.

I’m badly hoping for a quiet Sunday at home but won’t dare make plans or think that it might happen. I’m just going to tip toe into this day and hope for the best.

Wish me luck.