School buses and motorcyle cops

Last week, I was driving back to work after my lunch break, thinking about all the things piled up on my desk and unfortunately not paying attention to how fast I was going when I heard the unwelcome sound of a siren behind me. I pulled over and was told I was going 52 in a 40. Not good. Couldn't find a current insurance card. Also not good. While Mr. Motorcycle Cop is checking my record or whatever it is that they do when they leave you just sitting there wondering what your fate will be and how much it's going to cost, I noticed it was about time for Zac to be out of school. Since our neighborhood, Zac's school and my office are all on the same street, I knew there was a good chance he would be coming by soon. As I saw the parade of buses, I reasoned that his bus is usually in the second wave that leaves the school and hoped I was safe from even worse embarrassment than I was already suffering. Then my cell phone began to ring....Zac's ring. Zac hadn't noticed it was me; his friend did! "Dude, isn't that your mom pulled over?"

Thankfully, embarrassment and a trip to the courthouse to prove I have insurance are my only consequences. I think owning up to your mistakes and not making a bunch of excuses for yourself combined with politeness goes a long way. I can promise you that I'm paying closer attention to my speed through that area now. Just today I saw two more motorcycle cops pulling people over in the same area. Let's hope their kids weren't watching from a school bus window!