Something funny happened a couple weeks ago. Well, rather I decided it would be funny, regardless of whether it truly was or not.

The Notice

One Saturday morning, the manager of the apartments where I live dropped off a notice of some thrilling upcoming events!

1. We’d be getting our fire extinguishers inspected! They all needed to be down in the laundry room on Monday morning by a certain hour.

2. We’d be getting some parking lot maintenance done! We’d have to have all our cars out of the parking lot on Tuesday morning by a certain hour.

The problem was I initially read “Tuesday” as “Monday,” so I had to mentally correct myself after reading the notice. I’d have to remind my roommates to get their vehicles out of the parking lot by Monday—no, Tuesday!—morning.

That Sunday…

On Sunday afternoon, I was taking a nap when my phone went off. It was a text from the apartment manager to let me know that all cars needed to be out of the parking lot on Monday, not Tuesday. I’d just been woken up, so my thought process was, “Yeah, it’s Monday, I know. I’ll make sure I remind them.” Also, I completely glazed over the word “Tuesday” in the text because I was still trying to figure out what was real and what was not (as one does when one wakes up).

I texted back and said I’d let my roommates know. I then promptly forgot all about the message and went back to sleep.

That evening, I went to get the fire extinguisher to put it in the laundry room downstairs. I saw the notice on the table and remembered that I needed to remind my roommates to have their vehicles out of the parking lot tomorrow morning. No wait, that was Tuesday. Tuesday. Had to remember that. Not that it mattered—they had work during the week, so their vehicles would be gone regardless. No worries.

Monday Morning

I awoke Monday morning to the sound of someone ringing the doorbell. I checked my phone. A missed call, plus a text from the manager, and another text from a friend. I wasn’t coherent at this point, so I was trying to sort out what was going on.

I eventually got to the door to find the manager standing there asking if one of the cars out there belonged to my roommate. I said yes, then asked, “Wait, wasn’t that Tuesday?”

“No, the paper was wrong.”

“Oh. I’ll let him know.”

Turns out neither of my roommates had work that day, so neither of them had moved their cars. Eventually, we got everything sorted out and it turned out okay, but it was kind of embarrassing on my part. It was only then that I checked my phone and realized that there had definitely been a heads up that the day for our parking lot maintenance was changed to Monday—not Tuesday—so I can only imagine what the apartment manager thinks at this point.

Lessons Learned

After the fact, I thought it was kind of funny. I got some real insight into how my mind works and how I managed to confuse myself. The best part was my gut reflex to the initial notice was that the parking lot maintenance would be happening on Monday in spite of the evidence of my eyes. I kept self-correcting to Tuesday, and that commitment to self-correction led to me being wrong. With that in mind, here are some fun takeaways:

Judge Not

It’s very easy to be wrong about something. That goes for all of us. If you see someone else who has gotten something wrong, don’t blame them. They’re only subject to the same weird vagaries of thought and confusion that you are.

Don’t Get So Defensive

If someone calls you out for being wrong, maybe take a moment to reflect on why you believe what you believe rather than doubling down on it. You may find you’re wrong, or you may come to understand your own beliefs a little more deeply. Remember, questions should not be an offense—they are an opportunity to explore.

Trust Your Gut

Finally—and I think this is my main takeaway—don’t dismiss your gut reflex out of hand. It’s usually more reliable than you give it credit for.

The Astral Wanderer is brought to you by confusion, which, according to one renowned author, is the REAL universal language. Like, share, or comment. Otherwise, you’ll miss your parking lot inspection. Really.