RED

So the other day I was out shopping for clothing that my kids could wear as costumes for their book character parade for school. This meant going into stores I don't regularly shop in for clothes. Lucky for me someone back in 1999 really had their thinking cap on because they designed a whole shopping center in Frisco exclusively for discount apparel stores. This was going to make finding costumes a piece of cake. In theory I should have been able to run from one store to the next except for one thing: Fletcher. He was in a really bad mood and was not going to make this easy. I think what started his tantrum was a toy he had spotted in the first store we went into. I believe we were in Ross and apparently they had something he really wanted. He kept saying, " Heroes. I want heroes" as tears of anger were rolling down his cheeks. I was able to quickly rummage through the racks and determine that there was nothing I could use, so I picked Fletcher up and moved on. Next up: TJ Maxx. At this point Fletcher is screaming and people are staring, but I don't care. I am on a mission and don't have a lot of time. This time though I put him in the cart and was able to strap him in long enough to find a couple of items that would work. Now it's off to the register to pay. I am sure the lady helping me is quite lovely, but let's just say she could probably benefit from a trip to Ben's office and a hot shower. Meanwhile Fletcher is still screaming, "Heroes! I want heroes!" I decide at this point to take a break and sit in the car for a second to calm him down. I call Shannon (as I usually do in times of distress) and her advice was to turn the music up really loud so I can't hear him screaming. So there I am sitting there with my son hysterically screaming in the back seat, music blasting, and me on the phone trying to have a conversation with Shannon. All of a sudden I look down at my left hand and notice blood from what I believe to be a cut or scrape if you will. It was about the size of a dime and the outside rim was dry while the rest was still wet. My first thought was that I must have cut myself on one of the racks in the stores. I really have no idea why I did what I did next. It just happened, but I licked my wound to wipe it off. And now for the most disturbing part of this whole story: I did not have a cut!! I searched my entire body- nothing. Then I pulled my hysterical son up front and searched his entire body- nothing!!! I have no idea whose blood I had on me or where it came from!!! I'm pretty sure it came from either Ross or TJ Maxx though. Needless to say I freaked out just a little bit. I'm just glad that the fact that I may have AIDS or Hep C now made Shannon laugh and laugh. I am still disgusted by this moment in my life and even writing this makes me sick to my stomach. You can bet I will never lick my blood again.