On pins and needles

Watching Run Fatboy Run with Lola did not make either one of us less nervous. She said she is so determined not to finish last that she will push me to the ground if she has to (she's joking...a little bit). I assured her we won't be last, and even though I never thought we would be, now I know we really won't cause there's no way in hell I'm going to get into a shoving match with Lola during our last steps to the finish line. We spent too much time discussing our "finish line photo" expressions to ruin it. My finish line face will be serious, with a hint of joy and accomplishment. Ah, who am I kidding? My finish line face will not be pretty, and my finish line photo the bane of my existence as it lives on in infamy on the race website.

We went over all the details of tomorrow like the incredibly organized and apprehensive people we are. I told Lola something that has been bothering me since Friday when I picked up my race packet- I only grabbed 2 safety pins. Obviously, to securely pin on your race number you should have 4 pins- one for each corner. But when the guy said "Need some pins?", I got all flustered and almost said "No" when I really meant "Maybe, what for?" Then I realized what for so I said "Yes" but only took 2.

Two! What was I thinking? Lola assures me that we'll get there early enough to stop by the registration booth and grab some more pins. "You don't understand", I say, "If I don't have the pins tonight I will stay up all night thinking about how I need pins. I'll run to CVS later." "That's crazy!", says Lola. "Go tomorrow- don't worry about it tonight, it'll be late, you need to go to bed early. Maybe you even have some lying around." But, nope, none with my sewing kit (it's a small, travel sewing kit- I'm not that domestic), none in my desk drawers...I'm out of places to look. I don't own any safety pins. I try not to think about it as we watch the movie and I do manage to put it out of my mind. Then, towards the end of the movie, when Fatboy is running his race, there's a shot of the race crowd. "Look at all those people with their numbers properly pinned on", I sigh. "Don't worry!", says Lola. "I have 4 safety pins! We can always do 3 and 3- it'll be fine!"

A short time later, I am standing in the aisles of CVS wondering where the safety pins are. Not the office supply aisle. Not the hardware/home aisle, although they do have about 82 kinds of lightbulbs, screws, and the thing you put in your sink drain. But no safety pins. So I head down the road to Walgreens. As I walk down the brightly light aisles I start to curse the 17 types of Crazy Glue and begin envisioning a sleepless night of safety-pin hunting. Then I spot them.

I am now the proud owner of 225 brass and nickel-plated safety pins in assorted sizes. And, hopefully, I'm about to become the recipient of a great night's sleep and maybe even a fabulous finish line photo.