The great British tin scare
I recently had a tin scare. Yes, a tin scare. This is me admitting that I am happy to bake cakes for school events whenever required BUT I’d better damn well get my tin back! Is it just me? Is that uncharitable? After last week’s baking for school fayres (I’ll never feel right about spelling fayres with a ‘y’!) I went to collect my tin from my son’s school. When I couldn’t see it anywhere, I asked the teachers who said they were put out for parents to collect and showed me where. There were no tins. Then one of the office administrators told me the same thing and showed me despite my saying there weren’t any tins there. So she said they were outside. I went looking outside. No tins. Then I was told that they had all been collected. I put on my best smile and said, through gritted teeth, “That’s OK, maybe it will turn up later”. As I walked home, I was steaming mad thinking some other parent had picked up my tin by mistake and taken it home and that I would never see that tin again and I’d have to go and buy another tin.
What’s wrong with me? I was really mad – almost to the point of crying about it. How lame is that. I spent a further 24 hours or so sulking about my lost tin. And I had offered it up to schools several times before over the years with baked goods and always got the tin back after. I even had bad thoughts about the other parents thinking one of them had ‘nicked’ my tin (it’s clearly labelled) – which was even more lame. There’s nothing special about this tin. But it is mine, I remember seeing it at the store, liking it and buying it. It wasn’t expensive and it is probably replaceable. Nevertheless, I was outraged.
Then the next day my son comes home after school from his friend’s house with a bulging book bag and I’m wondering what on earth is in his book bag? Lo and behold it’s my tin! Oh the joy! But mixed feelings really – happy to have my tin back but shamed by my bad thoughts about the teachers and parents and how I sulked like a child.
Luckily, my daughter brought hers home on the same day so no tin scare there. Next time I will be sure to be first in line to collect my tin to avoid any type of neurotic breakdown.
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Meghan Peterson Fenn is the author of Bringing Up Brits and co-author of Inspiring Global Entrepreneurs with Heidi Mulligan Walker. Meghan is also the Director and Chief Designer at her own design company, White Ochre Design Ltd. And, she is an award winning expat blogger.
Ha, ha. Sometimes the silliest things make us emotional. I had an eye doctor’s appointment last week at 9:00 on a cold, rainy day. I arrived on time and they told me that my appointment was not at 9:00 but 10:30. For some reason, I cried all the way home! I have no idea why it got me so upset.
I know what you mean and I think for us expats it’s even more of a roller coaster because we can’t easily share this stuff with people. I would have called up my mom straight away and she would have understood how I was feeling. But at that time, she was asleep in bed because she’s in America and I live in England!! I think it’s also that feeling of isolation that sometimes creeps up on us when we least expect it.
Meghan, I would’ve been exactly the same. It’s the principle of things that bother me a lot. Despite the fact that losing the tin in these circumstances was pretty minor in the scheme life, the thought that somebody had taken it (knowing it wasn’t their’s), was maddening. Thank heavens it was in your son’s possession the whole time! Don’t feel guilty about feeling cross. Perfectly natural in my book! x
Thank you Fiona. Good to know I’m not the only one!