Wednesday, May 16, 2007

A Red Sox Debacle: When Mom Screws Up

Last December, I had my laptop, The Spouse’s laptop, our landline phone and my cell phone all spread out across the kitchen table. I was trying, for hours upon end, to get through to the Boston Red Sox ticket telephone line or online ticket purchasing queue. I was trying to buy two decent tickets for The Spouse and I (as our big birthday gifts to one another) and four tickets for The Spouse and the three kids to see a game.

It was a hectic morning. I was fueled by caffeine and frustrated after hours of failure. So when both a laptop AND the landline phone had opportunities open up simultaneously, I should’ve known I was just askin’ for trouble.

Long story short: I wrote down the wrong date for The Spouse-kids’ game. And, because I didn’t check the tickets when they were mailed to me, I didn’t notice when the game for which we had four tickets was played. Instead, I got the kids all revved up about their upcoming game. They went to school and told all their friends. On so-called game day, they dressed in their Sox gear. And then, as I was getting the tickets to hand them to The Spouse I happened to notice that the game for which we had tickets had occurred a week earlier.

The only thing that spared me a verbal tongue lashing from all fronts was the tears in my eyes and the ashen look that took over my face when I realized my disappointing and costly mistake.

In a vain attempt to redeem myself, I signed all three kids up for membership in the Red Sox Kid Nation club, which promises with each membership, the opportunity to buy a pair of tickets.
Of course this means that if we do get tickets for each kid and a grown-up, we’ll have to pay for parking three separate times, as opposed to one. But when you disappoint your kids during their one chance to see the Sox this season, you do what you gotta do.

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