SOME MISTAKES YOU JUST DON'T MAKE

Last week during my 50th birthday party I spent some time cutting up the beautiful cake my sister in law had made. She had used black dye on some of the fondant and as I cut the cake my hands became blacker and blacker. Not wishing to ruin my beautiful birthday dress, I took off into the bathroom to scrub my hands. A couple of minutes later my friend Carole stormed in and asked what I was doing in there. Thinking that she was making conversation as it was actually pretty obvious, I just laughed. But she persisted and told me that I needed "balls" to be in here and I needed to come out. It still took a bit longer, but eventually when she pointed behind me to the latrines the penny finally dropped. I was in the male bathroom. Thank goodness it was empty at the time. When I finally exited the bathroom, there was a crowd waiting to give me a rousing clap. How mean! It was a simple mistake!  

According to http://au.reachout.com/the-truth-about-mistakes making mistakes is a normal part of life and taking responsibility and facing up to our mistakes is a great way to learn and avoid doing the same thing again. Did I learn anything from my bathroom adventure? Yes. I learned that when I'm focused on something, I tend to have blinkers on - not a good habit really. Imagine the embarrassment if the bathroom had been full. According to my husband, I make these mistakes often. Leaving the lights on is his pet peeve. The reality is that I am so focused on what I am doing next, I just forget to turn those lights off! OK it needs to stop. I admit it. I am at fault here and I hereby promise to slow down, stop, think and play my part in reducing the cost of the power bill. 

Let's get serious now. Some mistakes are worse than others and some mistakes you just don't make.

Yesterday I drove home from the city. It is a four and a half hour road trip that can be quite tedious, but was actually lovely for a change. I saw lots on the way - paddocks full of stunning yellow canola crops, an emu feeding in an area that was rejuvenating from a bush fire  and crisp clear ocean views. It wasn't all nice. I also saw people driving like idiots possessed, driving with heads down (obviously checking out their phones) and people texting.These people are making huge mistakes while deliberately and intentionally breaking the law AND BOY AM I CROSS.

The first day I ever used a mobile phone, I needed to travel on the freeway in Perth. It rang while I was on the freeway and I was so excited by my first call, I reached down to answer it. Please be aware it was still legal to do so at the time. The next five minutes were madness. I made mistakes with my driving that put me and other drivers at risk. At one stage I even missed an exit and had to then go miles out of my way to return to my route. It was an eye opener and one I never repeated. I didn't need a law to tell me what to do. While driving, you do not use a phone.

Now usually mistakes are not a reflection on you as a person. I would hope that people don't judge my value by the fact I hung out in a male bathroom and left all the lights blazing in my house. But let me tell you straight. I am judging the folk who crossed my path yesterday and it's not in a good way, because how many times do you need to be told. The news, social media, magazines, newspapers etc are littered with stories, rules and laws about driving. There is no longer any excuse. These mistakes are serious and need to stop.

If you are one of the many people who still "play" with their phone while driving, stop it before you kill yourself or others. And quit making excuses for yourself. You do NOT have to take that call or reply to that text or find out what's happening in the world while driving. You just don't.

Usually, if you make mistakes, you acknowledge them, fix them and move on. It's actually not healthy to dwell on old resolved mistakes. But if you are one of the many still doing the wrong thing on the road, I would encourage you today to dwell and keep dwelling.Think about how quickly life could change. Then chuck your phone in the back seat out of reach while driving. Or better still put it in your bag and put the bag in the boot of the car.

I'm off to check that all the lights are off in the house. Let me know when it is safe to go back on the roads.

Till next time...xxx

The view on the drive home