Pride Comes Before The Fall

I pride myself on finding the best deals to save money for our family. I cut coupons, subscribe to sites that send me additional deals, and I stop at two different stores to get my weekly grocery sales.

I also pride myself in watching for cops on the highway and staying just barely over the speed limit so that I do not get caught. I laugh at the fools who get caught because they did not have the sight to see the patrol car sitting on the side of the road (except for my lovely friend who was just trying to meet us for dinner Friday night).

This is why my fall today hurt all the more.

I was driving around to various stores, looking for thick curtains for Abby's room (because the girl has been waking up earlier and earlier each day), all the while making sure not to speed. Because of the holiday weekend, the cops are everywhere and for some reason, people kept getting pulled over. I could not understand why anyone was speeding when they were at every exit. I took my exit, which leads around a circle to a stop sign. While approaching the end, I noticed a police car sitting on the road. I actually smiled and thought, "At least I was not speeding so he cannot get me for anything."

I was wrong.

After I made my right turn, careful to use my turn signal and look twice to my left, I noticed him turn his lights on as I passed him. Confused, I pulled over, expecting him to follow someone else. Nope. Apparently, I did not come to a complete stop. The penalty for such an offense? An $85 fine.

Really?

After all the people flying down the road, running red lights and passing on the right, I get pulled over for not stopping the full few seconds before turning right with absolutely no traffic in sight? Even my genuine tears did not get me out of it.

Okay, so it is just a little citation. However, when I think of how that amount of money was worth months of coupons and planning on my part, it is quite frustrating. It feels like such a waste.

Thankfully, I have a husband who simply hugged me and sided with me right away. And someday it will make a fun story to share when others are experiencing their run-ins with the law.