Slip n Slide

"Oh my God, Ali! Are you ok?"
I knew I should respond, I knew I should get off the ground, and I knew I should not put my head down. Unfortunately, I did not do any of those things. I just gave in to the situation, put my head on the ground, and started laughing. It was one of those times where my body knew only one response - laugh. I had just publicly slid down the street, stopping under a planters box in the middle of Galway.
Safe!
"I'm fine," I finally said, "Embarrassed as all hell, but fine."
You have to understand that Chelsea and I had been walking for at least a mile, with our hands full of groceries. Here in Ireland, like the starting trend in America, they charge you for using bags at the grocery stores, so Chelsea and I decided that we could use the bags we'd gotten from Penney's (a retail store, much like JC Penney). Why would any store in a country that constantly rains give out paper bags? Needless to say, our paper Penney's bag broke, so we were left with 50 Euros worth of groceries in one plastic bag and two small handbags. It was painful. Actually, painful - I have bruises from where the heavy bags were hanging on my wrists.
About halfway through the trip home, we stopped at a pharmacy, soaking wet and pathetic looking, and asked if they had a bag. The woman, showing her true Irish hospitality, made some make-shift bags for us to continue our journey. She said, "Do you have much further to go?" and unfortunately, our response was, "Yeah, pretty far."
I don't know how the Irish do it. It's probably that they can drive....or they're prepared with the correct type of bag. Either way, in that moment on the ground, lost somewhere between tears and laughter, I couldn't help but think, "Why am I here? Why didn't I choose a warm country? I could have gone to Australia!"
But life is a learning experience, and if I had gone to Australia or Italy or some other country, I wouldn't have learned the hard way to always be prepared with reusable bags. I wouldn't have learned that sometimes it is better to let yourself laugh at the absurdity that you have just publicly fallen on your face, then cry that you are wet and kind of miserable. Sure, I would have learned different lessons, but I feel confident in saying that I am supposed to be here. I am supposed to be in Ireland, falling and fighting the rain and enjoying the company. I am supposed to be learning these lessons.