Mistaken Identity – Oops that’s not my car

OK, seriously, who else has done this? I cannot be the only person who has actually gotten into the wrong vehicle by accident. With all the look-a-like minivans around here, surely someone has even gotten into mine!

The first time it happened to me, I was chatting away with my friend Devra on my cell phone as I was walking out of the grocery store with one small bag in my hand.   I was immersed in our usual hilarious banter and her delightful puns as I opened the front door to my silver minivan,  sat in the driver’s seat, and set my bag down next to me. 

As I looked in the rear view mirror, I was stunned to see the hatch was open and there a man loading groceries into my van!  What the… ?!   Then it happened — my brain kicked in.    This is not my minivan.   

It’s his. Oops.

I grabbed my bag, slipped out of the door, and started to walk back so I could apologize to the man.  Then I realized that he was so immersed in loading groceries into his man-van that he HAD NOT EVEN SEEN ME!  I began laughing hysterically to my friend on the phone.  From her perspective I had just taken a double dose of crazy as I cackled like a hyena, and I could barely even tell her what had just transpired. It gets better. 

If you were reading carefully, you may have noticed that I wrote, “the first time it happened…”   This bit of foreshadowing tells you that it has happened again.  My poor Sylvia (the name I give my current Mother Ship) must be suffering from an identity crisis, and I am getting a reputation for not recognizing my own car!  There have been several other times I have walked up to the wrong shiny silver van with keys in hand, frantically clicking the unlock button until I realize my mistake. 

I swear that I am not even distracted on the phone when I’ve done it, however, I do get the urge to call Devra when it happens.  Sometimes I do.  And we laugh.

Seriously — Has this happened to anyone else?

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