Every once in a while, I just go and do something, with the best of intentions, that totally back-fires on me. A few years ago, it was trying to empty water from the awning of our camper. It had poured the night before and it looked like the awning was going to burst. I figured the best I could do was to empty it by lowering one side.
That was a mistake. The entire awning collapsed and broke in half.
Today, I made another such mistake.
This morning, the cattle trailer was still hooked up from returning home last night. It was my job to unhook it; which I had never done before. That being said, it went surprisingly well. I went to move the truck out front, only to find the keys weren’t in it. I closed the tailgate of the truck and went inside to have breakfast and a shower. I could move the truck after those.
So I went back out. Moved a few things that would be in the lawnmower’s way in a few hours and then went back to the truck. Not giving a second thought, I hopped in, started it up, and put it in drive. A few short seconds later, I heard a distinct crunch of metal. Metal bending and breaking. I turned around. A feeling of regret passing over me as I looked at the tailgate, which I had forgotten to put back down.
I wouldn’t say the tailgate was completely destroyed… But, it certainly isn’t one of those times when you can just push it back into place.
I called my dad and he seemed to understand. “Shit happens.” It probably helped that I was crying when I called. I felt like such and idiot. I couldn’t help, but cry.
