I came thisclose to another trip to D.J.’s school today, this time to yank him out of class and take him to the hospital for the arrival of his baby sister. The fact that it didn’t happen wasn’t Tammy’s fault; she’s doing everything she can to keep the wait for Kylie short. She was at the hospital, but then she went home. One of these days verrrrry soon, she’ll come home with her first daughter.

Mom wouldn’t have minded if Kylie had arrived today. She’s leaving tomorrow for a five-day bus trip up north. When she planned this trip, the due date was about two weeks from now, so she can’t be blamed for thinking she was in safe territory. Now, it’s possible she’ll come home next Monday to a new member of the family. Only this time it will be her first great-granddaughter.

Since I was on call this morning, I didn’t want to take a lot of time on my errands. I did have to deposit my paycheck, however, to make sure my rent check doesn’t bounce. Instead of going to my usual bank inside the supermarket, I went to a branch a few blocks closer (inside a different supermarket). My idea was to dash in, dash out, and race home to wait for the phone call.

The plan worked perfectly, too, except for a couple of things. One was that my car was almost flattened in the supermarket parking lot by an SUV backing out of its space. I was on my way out and I saw the van with its backup lights on, so I waited. It moved a few inches, then stopped, so I proceeded (as they say in police reports).

Suddenly the van started moving again, and it was immediately obvious that the driver didn’t know I was behind him. I was too close to stop, and there was probably more danger in trying to back up anyway, so I squeezed the gas pedal a little and sped on by. It was lucky for me that there was nobody ahead of me in the aisle, and that no one on the other side of the SUV was trying to back out at the same time.

I barely made it, and I doubt the van driver knows even now how close he came to leaving his imprint on a green Saturn. I think this incident shows a big reason why I go to that other supermarket to do my banking and shopping. I’ve never come close to being pancaked there.

The other reason my plan wasn’t exactly perfect was that the call to rush to the hospital never came. In fact, I got the all clear shortly after I got home, so all I could do the rest of the day was work. Since this was payroll day, that’s not an entirely bad thing. But on the whole I might have preferred being at the hospital, welcoming my first grandniece. The time for that will come.