Hard to know how this life will turn out, but sadly, there are warning signs

I go to the credit union to deposit some money. The check and the checking deposit slip are signed and ready.

I take the container from the tube, put the check and slip in it, and put the container back in the tube.

I wait for a couple minutes while the folks in the car to my left do their business.

They finish, and the very friendly teller says "Hi! How are you?!" (I could tell she meant for the exclamation point and the question mark to be used. She was that way.)

"Tremendous," I say.

"Well, that's great!" she says.

A few quiet seconds pass.

Then she addresses the issue that needed to be addressed.

"Did you send me something in the tube?" she asks.

In that next split-second, a lot of things pass through my mind, most about what seems to be a very uncertain future. And then I look, and see the container still sitting in the tube where I left it. Which verified a lot of those fleeting but disturbing thoughts.

Hadn't sent it.

I'd just been sitting there in line for a couple minutes, minding my business, listening to the Brewers on radio.

"Oh, Jesus," I say. "No. Sorry. I bet you thought I just came here to park."

I punch the button, and send the container.

"There you go," she says.

"You learn a lot about yourself in times like this," I say.

"No problem."

She handles the deposit and sends the slip back to me.

"I just PUSHED THE BUTTON to send it back to you," she says, laughing.

"No need to rub it in," I say, also laughing.

"Have a great day, Dan," she says.

Moral of the story: Send good thoughts to my wife, who is scheduled to live with me for a while yet.