My son goes through about a jar of pickles per week.  Dill spears or slices.  This week he accidentally picked up a jar of bread and butter sweet pickles at the store and only figured it out after he had opened the jar and taken a big bite out of a slice.

Now not only is he highly disappointed that he has the wrong pickles and irritated with himself that he didn’t pay closer attention, he has to figure out what to do with the pickles that we have before I’ll buy a jar of the correct pickles.  Drat & aggravation.

I have done this very thing – ended up with the wrong item due to inattention, I read the info on the shelf but didn’t check the label on the item that I picked up.  Figuring it out at home putting the groceries away or worse just when I go to use the item.  It’s a pickle for sure.

It is like your brain rushes ahead to the next thing.  Like pulling in to your driveway and not being sure how you got home.  Or not registering someone’s name when you first meet.  The opposite of mindful in-the-moment.  Not quite absent minded.

It would make a bit more sense if we were in a hurry at the store.  I had an action packed day last week and had trouble adjusting my thoughts once I got to my last meeting in the evening.  I had to tell myself to breathe a couple of times before I could settle in.  A blip in attention would have made sense then.

What is the weirdest thing that put you in a pickle in a moment of inattention?  And any suggestions for what to do with bread and butter sweet pickles?

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Tagged: Life, Making decisions, Thinking