Tap The Cheek

by Mark
(TX)

I've always been sort of absent minded. When I was a kid I was always forgetting appointments, class schedules, and locker combinations. I was always getting in trouble with my parents and teachers. As I got older, I learned that I had to start being more responsible, not just for other people, but for myself.

When I was in middle school, I began carrying a wallet. My parents had told me that it was time for me to carry some identification and money in case I got in a bind. They gave me a long lecture about how important it was to show I was responsible enough to carry a wallet. They reinforced over and over again how I cannot lose the wallet!

I was nervous at first. I knew I had a problem losing things and I didn't think the wallet would be any different. The first few days, I think I kept my hand in my pocket gripping the wallet the entire day. Anything I could do to not forget about the wallet because I knew the minute I forgot about it, I would misplace it.

After that first few days, I began to relax and not worry about it as much. I slid it in my back right pocket and tried to forget about it. I did, however, make it a habit to reach around and slap my right butt cheek a couple times an hour to make sure it was still there. To this day, I still give myself a tap on the right cheek every now and then just to make sure the wallet is in the appropriate place. Oh, and just for the record, I never lost it.