Thirty-Five Reasons to Cry

I love the convenience of online banking. No envelopes, no stamps. Email alerts for almost everything. Tonight, though, one of those alerts about sucked the life right out of me.

No need to tell the whole story. Too much information would have to be given and seriously, who really cares about somebody else's bills? We all have enough to worry about just keeping track of our own. The short of the story is it was my mistake. The wrong account marked for the wrong payment and bingo!... the bank now has some of our money in the form of a fine. Or a fee. Whatever they call it, thirty-five bucks is no longer our own.

What could thirty-five dollars buy? My mind races through the number of gallons of milk, loaves of bread, cartons of eggs, and bags of apples I could get. Or almost a gas tank fill-up. It could pay the water bill and still have enough left over for one boy who needs ten dollars for a birthday party this week-end and a hazelnut latte for the mom. More importantly, that thirty-five bucks could have bought me that pretty sweater I saw today and a corduroy jacket I've had my eye on. Good thing I resisted the urge and walked out of the store empty-handed.

Bummer. The night was going so well. I fixed Daddy's Favorite Pork Chops for supper which is always a hit with... well, the daddy. He fired up the chainsaw afterwards to get some wood ready for a bonfire we're having this week-end, chased me around the yard just for fun, and slung me over his shoulders much to our daughter's delight. It was just one of those fuzzy,warm feelings kind of night.

Darn that email. After blaming the bank silently in my head and then recognizing my mistake and confessing what I had done, that husband of mine just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Nothing to do about it now." I adjusted some numbers with a handy transfer button and that was that, but the warm, fuzzy feeling was gone.

Then again, it is election night. Numbers in the right places could very well bring that warm feeling back. If that doesn't work, Kurt Warner on Dancing with the Stars just might. :)