How embarrassing!!!!!

This morning, I was sooooo embarrassed!!

I filled my car with petrol at the station, only to then realise at the cashier's desk that I hadn't brought my wallet and therefore could not pay!!!

I had to apologise to a suspecting cashier in front of other customers. What is worse, he made me wait until he had finished dealing with the whole queue, before then making me fill a form to state that I would come back with payment, which I did...

It was not at all funny. I felt extremely humiliated, although I had only myself to blame for being put in this situation.

I went home feeling upset and angry, mostly with myself. I did not know quite what to do, or how to feel better again..

Then...

A friend of mine rang me to tell me about an embarrassing situation that happened to her this very morning!!!

She was shopping at a busy supermarket and filled her trolley up. After waiting in the queue and getting the cashier to scan all her items individually, she could not pay because she had forgotten to bring her wallet!!

Although the cashier was sympathetic and reassured my friend that such things do happen, she still felt embarrassed and a little upset. They kept her shopping trolley for her until she came back from home with payment, which she did....

I must admit, my friend's experience did make me feel a little easier. I told her of my embarrassment, which I am sure made her feel better too!!!

Then....

Another friend rang, with another embarrassment story.

One of her car tyres was under-inflated, so she took the car to a local repair garage and requested that the tyre be re-inflated.

That is fine so far. The problem is that my friend's first language is not English, of which her command is not the best in the world. When she asked for her tyre to be inflated, she requested that the tyre be filled with "wind" instead of "air"!!!!

She only realised that she said something wrong when everyone around burst into loud laughter. She felt soooooo embarrassed...

I reassured her that these things happen, and that she needn't worry. I invited her to come around for a cup of coffee which she gladly accepted. I then put the phone down and burst into a very loud and prolonged laugh!!!!!

I completely forgot about my own embarrassment, which then appeared to me to be a triviality of everyday life that we needn't and shouldn't lose any sleep over.

Sharing our experiences can be a great consolation to all of us, the value of which we should never underestimate. I am so glad that I spoke to those two dear friends of mine, as I am sure they are also glad that they spoke to me. We all felt better as a result...