Winner time! First, your entries were so inspiring I re-read that thread (ha! do-over!) several times yesterday.
Thanks to the random integer generator, the winner is:
#26: Michelle Harlan!
Michelle, please send your mailing address to me at sarahATsmartbitchestrashybooksDOROTHYcom.
Thank you to everyone who entered, and I hope your weekend is free of any need for a do-over!
I received an email from Knock Knock about doing a giveaway, and it made me so giddy, I bounced on the sofa. I love Knock Knock – I use their “All Out Of” grocery list pad every week, and it's a lifesaver in so many ways. Saves me money, too. I love a LOT of their stuff, so I was really excited that they wanted to give some away here.
Since it's nearly Valentine's Day, they want to send one lucky winner a sampler of their products, including a Personal Library Kit, complete with datestamp, self adhesive pockets and checkout cards for your books, 'Sweet Nothing' post-it notes, and a set of sticky 'Guilty Pleasure' bookmarks. They sent me a set of the products to play with, and they are so adorable. Releasing my inner librarian is terrible fun.
And since it's Groundhog Day, today's contest theme is Do Overs! One thing I like about Knock Knock products is that they help me stay a little bit better organized – and less likely to need a do-over.
To enter to win the Knock Knock reader sampler, just tell me about a day when you got a do-over, and changed things for the better. Did you reorganize? Fix something? Tell us about it!
Standard disclaimers apply: I am not being compensated for this giveaway (except for my own sampler set, mentioned above). No fee for insertion (SNRK). Void where prohibited. Open to anyone worldwide 18 years of age and older wearing flippers on their feet. Use caution when walking while wearing flippers. Park at your own risk.
Comments will be open for 24 hours – so let's celebrate the do-over!
As a graduate student, I feel like I get do-overs all the time, in terms of revision, teaching classes over again, etc. Which is good because I often need them. ; )
Like so many others, my now-husband and I needed a do-over. The situation was slightly different—we were friends, but not terribly close while I was dating one of his friends. When the eventual breakup happened between me and that guy, my now-husband and I continued talking about a mutual point of interest (he’d just been to Europe, and I was planning my own trip) until he abruptly said it was too weird talking to me now that I wasn’t dating his friend. Several months later, after I returned from my trip he contacted me about the pictures I’d posted and we started talking again. One thing led to another, and now I’m married to the best friend I’ve ever had.
Thank goodness for do-overs!
For some reason still unknown to me, my Geology grad school program forced me to take Classical Mechanics (a core Physics course). Of course, in undergrad I took the easiest possible physics course I could get away with. So there I am with a bunch of physics major undergrads, having no clue. I failed every test in the class. Luckily for me, the professor took major pity on me and allowed me to re-do several tests…and then gave me a completely made up grade so I passed his class and didn’t fail out of grad school. Perhaps he just didn’t want to see me again, staring at him in confusion. 🙂
I started a new job just under a year ago. One of my tasks is organizing committee meetings. The previous staff person used binders to keep track of all the paper and I spent months grumbling to myself about how inefficient the system was. Finally, in a bright and sparkling light-bulb over my head kind of revelation (yes, it did hurt, as a matter of fact!), I realized that I could change the process to a more efficient one that suited me better. Whew! My only regret is that my life-altering epiphany didn’t occur sooner!
Wow. I love the themes emerging in the stories – the relationship and education do-overs really get me. As a teacher it’s hard to know what kind of impact (for good or bad) my actions have on my students, especially mundane things like accepting late or re-done work. Something to think about.
I met my husband at work. I could tell when we met that he was interested in me, but I was not at all interested in dating anyone from work, and not particularly interested in him, so I shut him down. And good. We then became work buddies – we didn’t work in the same department but our offices were near each other and we joked around at the water cooler, etc. That lasted about a year, and then we had this very awkward lunch together (we actually had a few lunches that he considers our first dates and I consider pre-dating “work buddy” lunches) where I realized that we were actually NOT work buddies, and that I really liked him, and I had to make a decision. So I asked him out for dinner and a movie. He said yes. At the end of that date, I knew he was someone I could get serious about. We celebrated our 10th anniversary this fall. Very glad I reconsidered my position against office romances.
Clothes. I tend go a little nuts at thrift stores (no, not ‘vintage’- I can’t psychologically accept second hands that aren’t straight up Salvation Army prices) and will buy anything that’s shaped and tailored well to me. The do-over for me is then dyeing the clothes to the colors I want.
There’s a reason that someone got rid of their practically new orange with bright green lizards sundress, but no one can figure out how I got a lovely aubergine-with-a-hint-of-pattern shift for $3
Every day, every morning that the sun comes up and my eyes open: that’s a Do Over. The limitless possibilities, the chance to start again, every single day.
I wish I could have the last week as a do-over, too much stress that I didn’t handle well at all. Apologies to many people were in order.
I think the most significant do-over I ever had was my whole freshman year in college. I failed so spectacularly my first semester that I made myself sick my second semester trying to pull my grades up enough to keep my scholarship. And even that was only possible through a single blinding stroke of luck. But after that first horrible year, I did quite well and even graduated with honors.
Ok, I forgot my husband’s name on our first date. (I HAVE AN EXCUSE.) In a nutshell: Girl’s college, boys college, university. Freshman girls go to boy’s college, I did a skit, had dinner with a table of 7 boys. Got a phone call later, agreed to the date. Had to sign out of the dorm….and I forgot which one he was to put it on the signout sheet. Had a good date and he asked me out again. We’ve been married over 44 years.
What great stories! As I look back over my life, with 20-20 hindsight, there are a lot of things I wish I had gotten a do-over for. But then again, I wouldn’t be who I am today (for better or worse) if I’d had the chance to do-over. The one do-over that comes to mind is the deep revisions of a novel I wrote and was convinced was the best thing since cafe au lait! Luckily, an editor friend yanked me back into reality before I sent the MS to anyone but her. I revised and no, those revisions didn’t get me a contract, but they did get me an agent and the hope of a contract.
I don’t have a particular do over day, but I do have do over moments. I usually find them when I realize I have overreacted or behaved badly and I think through how I should have handled it and try to apologize and make amends. I am still a work in progress but getting better!
I hated a corporate job I had when I was much younger and felt trapped. I was offered another one with lower salary but in an entirely different track and opted to take it. Best carreer do-over ever!
When I was in school (eleven years old maybe) I once didn’t turn an assignment in. Somehow the teacher never realized and I thought I’d gotten away with it. Then at the end of the year, we had to hand in all the work we’d done, all the assignments that should have been graded by the teacher. I re-wrote that one assignment and decided to fake the teacher’s sign and grade on it with a red pen (didn’t realize it was a federal offense at the time). The day I was supposed to hand it in, I chickened out, faked a tummy ache, skipped school and did the assignment again, without the fake grade this time. I handed that in the next day and explained that I hadn’t done it when I was supposed to. Guess it was my lucky day, or the teacher was in a forgiving mood, because she accepted it and I wasn’t even punished.
I have thought of this many times over the years. I’m so glad I didn’t go through with the original plan. If I had been caught, I would have been in serious trouble, and I hadn’t… I’m sure that wouldn’t have been good for me either at such an impressionable age.
Don’t know if this qualifies as a ‘do-over’ though! 🙂
I’ve been having some angst in fandom, and last night I decided I was letting the anonymous h8 have power over me. So I decided, do over time, I was done allowing it to get to me and that I would continue flailing around in fandom as usual. I feel so much better today. 😀
When my kids were little and we had one of *those* days, when nothing is terrible, but there are just a thousand little things that go slightly wrong and I stopped handling things well, I’d give myself a time out. I’d tell the kids that Mommy was not dealing well with people and she needed a time out to calm down. They thought it was so funny that I did that to myself (instead of them!) and I got a few minutes of perspective, so when I emerged, we typically had a great rest of the afternoon.
I got a do-over for an interview I had to do for a college class. I didn’t do so well that first time I interviewed the person, but she was kind enough to let me try again.
Cleaning out closets and pantries this weekend felt like a do-over. It gave us a chance to throw away things that were just in our way and recreate the spaces into something that actually helps us rather than hinder us as we go about our day.
I had a do-over yesterday but I’m still not sure it worked out.
Was trying to make “Poulsbo bread” from a recipe online that was meant for a bread machine—by hand. First batch had to be thrown out because it apparently didn’t rise (I had noticed the yeast had not gone through its usual proofing; now I’m not sure if it was dead yeast or cold water).
Made a second batch (knew the yeast was fine this time).
In short? FUCK BREAD MACHINE RECIPES. I’m tempted to add “and fuck everyone who robotically reposts them all over the fucking web” but that may be the bad night’s sleep talking.
All these relationship do-overs remind me of my own. I met my husband at a karoake bar. I had just finished singing (“Oh Darling!” by The Beatles) and he came up to me and told me how good I did and that he had actually been thinking about signing up for the song. I told him (since I was a regular) that if he ever saw me there to NEVER EVER sing my song and then I walked away. Well months go by and I made a continued point to say hi to him everytime I saw him for some reason. Then one day he sang my favorite Beatles song “Rocky Raccoon”. I instantly took notice and asked him to sing it again the next time I saw him there. Now he admits to me that he always thought I was cute but it was that moment that he fell for me and decided to pursue me. So months go by some more and eventually I don’t see him one night….I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed his company until that moment and I went home early. Luckily, my best friend was still there and so was his brother. I did a little asking through the grapevine for his number and we’ve been together ever since. Just recently got a married a little over a year ago and have started a family. Best do-over ever. If I had just passed him by like any other guy, I would never be this happy now.
The best do-over had to be when I was teaching in Japan. I was helping a student who was having trouble with their entrance exam prep—and after a while it was clear that we were both frustrated and I wasn’t helping anymore. So I called a time out/do over. She went outside, I went to the teacher’s room and we came back. I said “Oh! N——-! So nice that you came for tutoring, are you excited? Let’s get started!” and she laughed and we got down to business. The session went well, she started to understand some of the grammar points that had been giving her trouble for months and something just clicked. Three months later she passed her exam with flying colours and is now in the HS of her choice!!
Hmmmm…. Well, in quilting, sure once it’s, cut it’s cut, but if you cut it wrong you can always use it somewhere else starting a whole new creative endeavor. Even a quilt that doesn’t turn out the way you thought it would (had a few of those!), can be cut up and used to make something else entirely, or tossed in the trunk of the car to be there for you to kneel on while you change a tire in subzero whether. Bless you ugly trunk quilt!
I did my junior year abroad in England & met this tall gorgeous Irishman getting his MA. We fell for each other, but when the year was over, I had to go back to California to finish undergrad, and he was headed to Paris for a job. It wasn’t a reasonable distance (this was pre-internet. Email existed in the computer labs, but I only used it to exchange messages with a guy serving in Desert Storm.) We kept in touch, but broke up.
After I graduated, I went back to the same university for my MA. He was back in Dublin by then, which wasn’t so far at all. It just took the one trip to visit him for us to realize being together was way better than being apart. The next time I left England to return Stateside, I brought him with me. We’ve been married for almost 19 years.
I was a complete jerk growing up, and gave my mom a pretty rough time. So I think my best do-over, is that I had a chance to fix our relationship and now we are best friends.
When I was I college my best friend and I were going through one of those periods where you’re noth growing as people, but, you know, in kindof opposite directions. We had one of those stupid fights you have when what you want to say is “why do things have to change?!” And what you actually say is “i don’t care if it’s your favorite, celine dion’s “if you asked me to” is the stupidest love song in the history of love songs!”
Anyway I went home and dashed off this really hateful email detailing exactly how she was a horrible person that was ruining my life, sent it, and immediately felt like crap. A few hours later I got an email from ANOTHER friend with a similar email address “uhm, dunno who emily is, but sorry you guys are going through it…?” I’d sent my vitriol to the wrong person!
It worked out because Erika let me vent, I realized what was going on and got to the bottom of my crazy pants feelings, then called my best friend and told her what I REALLY thought of her. Namely, that she was one of the coolest people I knew and I hated that we didn’t have exactly the same interests anymore. It worked out great and I have never been so grateful for an email account anticipating my recipients.
Five weeks ago my ob told me that I was going to have a miscarriage. I went home, horribly depressed and sad. Two weeks later, back at the dr, I’m having a sonogram to see how things had progressed and Julie (I’ll never forget her) says, “What is he talking about! The baby is fine.” And she turned up the volume so I could hear the heartbeat.
Best do-over ever.
I work as an English teacher in several French primary schools, so I’m always darting between them on my lunch break to get where I need to be in time to prep for my next classes. However, since I’m at multiple schools, I’m not always the first to find out about things.
So one night I came home from work absolutely exhausted, but trying to get my lesson plans done for the next day. Fell asleep in the middle of planning, right on top of my worksheets, and didn’t wake up until the next morning. I was in a panic – I had missed my train, had no lesson plans, and didn’t know what I was going to do. After several frantic straight-to-voicemail phone calls to my coworkers trying to find someone to cover for me for the first few minutes of the day, one woman finally answered – it turns out that the teachers had decided to strike that day (since this is France), and I was just out of the loop. This meant that I didn’t have to get to work after all.
So I lucked out and got a spectacular chance for a Do-Over – I took the chance to get much better organized, and learned to stop doing lesson plans in bed!
Nothing too profound—started my first crocheted sweater this Monday… and it was all wrong. It was remarkably cathartic to pull it all out and start all over again.
I’m still hoping for a do-over with my in-laws… but it’s not up to me, unfortunately!
A friend and I got into a fight for the first time. I agonized over it all night. But the next day she just handed me a picture of the two of us as kids and acted like nothing was different. It was a great way to say no harm done… and let’s just do yesterday over again!
I think it has to be New Years Eve, 1984 when I spent half the party talking to an old school friend of mine, left the party, (rather drunk) and halfway through walking home insisted I went back to the party, rang the doorbell, found the old school friend and kissed him and then left again. Best decision ever. 25 years of marriage so far. LOL
My ability to muck up laundry is legendary. Not only do I shrink sweaters, I dye them new and interesting colors at the same time. Tighty-whities? Now super tight and not so white. Needless to say, laundry is my constant “Do over”. I have learned that if I forget to put the washing in the dryer for over a week that pouring bleach in is BAD and instead I can “do over” and merely run the load again. Brilliance, thou art me!
Hey thanks for reminding me about Groundhog Day – that one completely slipped by. There was the time, just after I moved to a much higher elevation, and right before Thanksgiving when I could not get my pecan pie to work. I exploded and burned at least four before I finally figured out how to make it work (thanks to the book Pie in the Sky).
I’ve never had the chance for a do-over, though I can think of some instances I would dearly love to have another shot at. :/
One of my hobbies is sewing, so I have a stash of fabric I’ve collected over the years. I had 10 yards of pretty pink linen and I had big plans for it. I had already cut out 2 other pieces to the outfit, but when I unrolled the pink linen, there was something wrong… looks like a cat peed on it! The last time I lived with a cat was 10 years ago, so the fabric was permanantly discolored by now! I washed it but I could still see the stains. But then… I found some blue dye and realized that blue would look just as good with the outfit. I dyed the whole thing and you can’t see the pee stains at all. Yay.
My husband and I were friends in middle school. Neither of us ever had the guts to make a “romantic” movie, though. Thirteen years later, we re-connected through facebook after college, a tour in Iraq, a marriage for one of us and all that life experience. We were married in October. Best do-over ever. 🙂
I write. I get a do-over every day. 😉
I feel like every day I get a do-over! (Hmm. Either I can wallow in how many mistakes that means I must make, or I can celebrate all my second chances. Let’s go with the latter.) Usually, my mistake is zoning out in front of something and then losing the will to live. Doing over almost always involves movement of some kind (I’m a reluctant runner/yogi) and/or getting out of the house. It’s so bad my partner and I have named this disease: Apartment Sickness. In fact, I’m feeling a touch of it come on right now. Excuse me…
The many times that dinner has come out “not quite up to standards.”
I keep a few pre-prepared meals in the freezer ready to warm up & serve.
I get a do-over & my family just has to wait a few minutes so I can “fix something extra special.” (they know I’ve made a mistake but pretend that the meal is extra good & special just for them.)
I get constant do overs with my husband. I’m a little (ha!) high strung, so sometimes I just go a little off the deep end, usually about things that make rarely any sense compared to the extreme emotional reaction they are causing. I’ve learned to watch for the deer in headlights look to mean that perhaps I am just a little too whatever I’m feeling for the situation and perhaps I should back off and give myself a little wtf moment and try again. Fortunately, he’s a patient man and loving enough to deal with the crazy and move on 🙂
The librarian kit looks amazing. I would immediately share it with my friend at work who loves books like most romance heroines love their heroes.
My big do-over was my very first day teaching as a TA. I had two classes, back to back, of thirty kids each. The subject was film, which I’d never studied. I was a language and literature geek. I hadn’t been able to attend the one day of TA orientation, so I was flying completely blind. I decided to get to my first class early and sit there at the front, reading, while my students arrived.
Pro tip: THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA.
That first class was awful. Hostility poured out from the students in waves. Nobody wanted to talk, nobody wanted to answer questions, people barely even made eye contact. After ten minutes of going over the syllabus, my nerves quailed and rather than lead any sort of grudging discussion I just told the students to scram and get started on their first assignment. (Thankfully not in those exact words.) They gave me disbelieving looks but obediently filed out. I sat there taking deep breaths for a minute until it hit me: THAT WAS THE SINGLE WORST EXAMPLE OF TEACHING EVER.
My incompetence felt colossal.
It was impossible for the next class to be any worse than the one I’d just failed to lead. This realization was completely liberating—I’d already made all the worst mistakes! All I had to do was the opposite of everything I’d just done!
And so it was. I waited until the bell rang before I entered my second classroom, took attendance, made jokes, admitted I had no idea what I was doing and asked what they’d thought of that week’s movie. My students responded, and seemed perfectly happy to argue with one another and ask questions of their own.
Every single day is a do over. Every day is an opportunity to change something, to do better, to bring yourself and your life closer to what you want it to be. I am so grateful to have realized that you’re never locked in place, that you can always change, and that any cages you feel you might be in are primarily of your own creation and therefore, their removal can also be your doing.