I know it’s not spelled ‘immigrunt’ but today I felt like a real ‘immigrunt’, not an immigrant.

I just had one of those days when everything stupid you could possibly do, gets done.

It started with Friday, when I went to a school to drop off eleven books some kids had bought. The librarian had it all very organized. All the book order forms with all the names to whom I should sign the books, and then the money collected and counted in a little plastic bag, a total of $155.

I thought I dropped it in the envelope along with the lovely letters from some of the kids who’d seen my presentation.

But later, when I took the envelope inside, it wasn’t there! $155 missing!

I checked the trunk of the car thoroughly, I checked my purse, I checked all the logical places, or so I thought. And then I wondered if I’d somehow left it at the school.

It being the Friday of a long weekend, I had to wait till this morning to call the school, and of course I felt like the biggest fool when the secretary said nope, it wasn’t there.

She sounded so concerned and asked me to let her know if I found it.

Then this afternoon my son was coming home early so I thought I’d take him to get his health card renewed. It was expiring and he needed to get the photo taken.

I had the renewal notice, but did I read it before I got to the government service office? No! It had taken half an hour to get to the office, and the line was very very long! All these immigrants in clothes from around the world trying to get their health cards for free health care. In line, I read what I should have read at home before I left.

Yikes! I had to bring proof of citizenship!

So I went up to the lady, a nice black lady with silver eyeshadow, and told her my dilemma. We had his student bus card, but that didn’t have his address on it. I showed her something else but I thought she’d say it wasn’t enough.

Because he already had a health card I was able to sign a guarrantor using my own driver’s license. But then, wouldn’t you know I put my name in the spot where the health card number was supposed to go.

When I told her I was so sorry she didn’t say anything, just got up to get something to white out my stupid mistake.

All the way home I cringed at what she must think of me.

Immigrants have such a bad rep.

One of my friends who’s from England and is actually an immigrant too told me how people would talk about immigrants in front of her, not realizing that even though she was white, she was one too.

What a word! Im-mi-grant. It even sounds uncouth.

And today I was.

Oh well. Tomorrow’s a new day. Maybe I’ll be a little more refined.

Frankly I couldn’t get worse.