Ponder for a moment how the course of your life would have changed if you remembered all of the things that you’ve forgotten. Alright, I have confused you. Let me try this again.
If you had the opportunity to retreat back in time to a place where you’ve said, “Gee I forgot to do that,” and thought about the outcome if you hadn’t forgotten that certain something, would the road taken lead you to the point you’re at now or not? Think about it for a moment. Here is a depiction of what I’m alluding to.
If you hadn’t forgotten to take out the garbage on that Tuesday night, you wouldn’t have fallen and twisted your ankle at 2 a.m. over the ham bone left on the staircase by the family dog, who gratefully ransacked the garbage can while you slept. The whole issue of blame with your wife about whose turn it was to take out the garbage would have been avoided, temperatures wouldn’t have risen, and instead you could have slept peacefully in the same bed rather than resorting to the couch.
Now you’re on the couch brewing over all of the injustices of the world with your foot resting in a pan of ice water and the dog still rummaging through the garbage. It suddenly dawns on you. You forgot to tell your wife that the boss and some of his clients will be coming over for dinner that night.
You have a choice here. You can let it go until the morning, buying yourself some time, or you can try to make amends while you hobble back to bed along the garbage-laden staircase.
You decide that it’s best to get it over with. So up the staircase you go, painful as it may be, and awaken your sleeping wife to tell her the good news. Fireworks erupt, and back down the staircase you go, tensor bandage in hand, praying for the morning to arrive.
Your wife has decided that she would be better off at her mother’s. So she already left before you arise. Now you have to call the office, explain about your twisted ankle and ask for the day off. The boss does not take the news well; these are important clients he tells you, and you had better be available or there will be consequences.
A taxi is called, you limp into the office with a smile upon your face, which really is a grimace, since your foot is throbbing and you are in agony.
The boss asks if dinner plans are still in place, and you assure him that all is well. At the end of the day, another obnoxious cab driver takes you home. Still no wife in sight, so you pace around the kitchen with your club sized foot, thinking about dinner plans as your dog waits patiently by the garbage can.
You’ve decided that you’ll order take out. No one will know the difference if you throw in a few of your own ingredients from the fridge, and pass it off as a hearty homemade dinner that your wife graciously made from scratch. That’s right. Your wife isn’t there you recall. Last minute call to sit with an elderly patient in the home where she volunteers. She isn’t expected home until late. That’ll work. You think.
6:30 comes and goes. Still no boss, no clients. 7 o’clock, same thing. You start to worry, thinking that perhaps they changed their minds. By 8:30 you realize that you’ve been stood up. No boss, no clients, no wife. Just a hungry, ham bone-chewing dog still waiting by the garbage can.
Just then, you have the most horrid thought. You forgot to check your phone messages when you arrived home. With all of the excitement brewing in your mind, it completely escaped you. You waddle over to the phone with red light blinking, and play your messages.
The third voice you hear is that of your secretary. “I’m so sorry Bradley. I forgot to tell you that Mr. Burns and the clients had to cancel dinner plans tonight. He would like to make it for tomorrow evening if that’s alright with you.”
You slide back into your lazy boy, double shot of whiskey in hand, and start to laugh hysterically. Your dog gives you one frightened look and runs under the couch. After a while, she sheepishly peeks out at you, holding a small red box in her mouth.
You wonder about its contents as you open the box. What could it be? As you observe its contents, your heart stands still. Inside glitters a handsome gold pocket watch. Engraved on the back are the words “Thank you for the time of my life. Love Amy.” The shock of the realization that tonight is your anniversary makes time stand still. You forgot.
Just then, you hear the front door open. Your wife’s voice echoes through the hallway, as if into eternity. “Honey I’m home. I’m sorry about everything. I really missed you. Happy anniversary,” she says as she leans over and kisses your cheek.
At that moment, all you can think about is, “Why didn’t I just take out the damn garbage?”
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