by Christie Perkins

I swear it was sitting right there.

The rush of the night had me winging the hairdo (yikes) and flinging the overdue redbox in the van. Well, actually I had my kiddo take care of the redbox. I had to return it because we were already late.

Last year we had this horrible habit of returning redbox rentals several days later. I made a new goal and commitment to make better use of my money. We would return movies the next night. And things were going well with that until…

Until, I don’t know what.

You know those moments when the redbox grins at you from the corner of the room and you gasp. Oh no! We haven’t returned that yet?

So we do that responsibility shift game. I ask my husband to take it on his way to work. Later that day he remembers he forgot to take it- so he texts me and asks me to take it in. And… I’m not sure what happens but I forget to take it. And before we know it my bank account it draining from a redbox rental.

And I didn’t love the movie that much to start with.

So, we do the logical thing and shift the responsibility to the much more reliable middle schooler.

And, bing! It actually gets into the van. (Good, responsible, middle-schooler. Good boy.) And for the next 10 miles I remind myself over and over and over to drop that off at the redbox… (box?) but the clock catches my attention.

I don’t have time.

And I’m beginning to worry about my degrading mommy brain. Great. Now I have to remember for the next hour and a half to get that baby in the box instead of enjoy the orchestra concert. So you announce it to your cargo that they (remember the responsibility shift game) need to help you remember to drop off the movie after the concert.

So. We get through the concert and completely forget about the Redbox. Of course.

But, miraculously I’m saved by my strategically placed movie. I notice it when I jump in to the van. It’s at my feet.

Sweet.

But, problem is… I don’t actually pass a Redbox… box shop thing right away. So I have to remember during our ice cream stint. Because after such a good concert we’ve got to get ice cream. And miracle of all miracles I do remember. Excited that I actually remembered I hop into the kid cargo.

But I have a new problem.

It’s missing. What in the world? I actually remembered this time and now I can’t find it? Oh the distress I cause myself.

We thoroughly search the vehicle in frigid flapping air while icicles hang from our noses and we scrunch up toes-es.

Ah. It’s not worth it. I’m working on a hospital frost bite visit. $1.60 down the drain for another day. What’s new. I get home and warm up by the fire and wonder about that magical disappearing movie. And now my thoughts of the redbox drop off goes from a vague recollection to a serious memory plague: suddenly, I’m always thinking about it.

I don’t even try. The redbox dilemma just zip zaps me in the head again and again.

And soon one more late day turns to two more. Now racking up 5 days of pay on a movie I half liked. Yikes! I’m thinking about the 30 bucks I’m going to spend to own a Redbox that I don’t actually own.

I moan.

But, there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. Well, I guess I could go scour the high school parking lot on a moonless night, recheck the crumb trap flap in the van, jay walk the busy street I crossed to get ice cream, or just sit here by the fire. I do the weak thing and warm myself up. I’ll figure that out tomorrow.

Ah. What’s another day anyway.

My mind drifts to what might happen to the redbox by tomorrow. I imagine all the horrible things that may have happened to it: tire tread embedding, locker room flushies, glittering smashed up snow slushies, puppy playthings, adopted parents… who knows what? I jumble my gut.

But a smile crosses my face when I get a phone call from my husband the next afternoon. “So you found the Redbox?”

Uh…”Nope.”

“I just got a receipt in my email that says it was returned. We paid nine-something for it.”

And my heart gets all warm and fuzzy when I realized we have a Redbox Bunny. This rabbits foot work brought me luck. So thank you random person who found my Redbox (probably in the High School parking lot or Arctic Circle parking lot). Thank you for returning my Redbox that must have slipped out of the van when I hopped in.

Thank you for not smashing my half-liked movie to shreds or giving it a locker room flushie. Thanks for not emptying my bank account with an overdue movie rental, thank you for doing the honest thing and returning the movie to the Redbox… shop box thing.

You just made my day.

So today as you are going about your day notice what needs to be done for someone else. It may take a little extra effort and you may be tempted to be self serving but even simple things bring great relief to others. Do the right thing; make a difference. Then pat yourself on your back and say- “Today I was a Redbox Bunny. I made someone’s day!” (But, personally, I would avoid the bunny suite.)

 

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