I wasn't sure if I'd ever blog about this because it's a slightly unflattering incident but it illustrates well how I'm feeling this Thanksgiving Day. Here goes.

Picture this: Monday morning, the beginning of a crisp day in a small town in Maine…

Sadie's outside lead had got caught on something (the stairs, her foot, something) and she was barking because she was stuck. (When you have a dog, you can just tell why they're barking, kind of odd…) Anyway, I went outside to go free her when, what must've been the difference in air temperature outside and inside, the door slammed shut. I was locked out, for the first time since college.

It was 7 AM, I was in my pajamas, and it was less than 20° outside. I walked (thank God I had slippers on) to the nearby open gas station and asked to use the phone. Since I've just moved here recently I know about 10 people who live here and of course, I saw most of them that morning. But they were perfectly friendly and talked to me like I wasn't wearing my pajamas and my crazy, post-sleep hairdo.

"How are you Nicole?"
"I could be better. I just got locked out my apartment."
"Oh no! Is Paul coming down?" (Everyone also knows my landlord.)

Paul said he be along as soon as he could. I called work to let them know I was going to be a little late. "I thought you were telling me that it's impossible to lock yourself out of your apartment?" Said my coworker. I had told her that earlier in the week, I remembered. But not the time to remind me.

I saw a pick-up pull into the parking lot that shares my driveway and I walked really fast from the gas station. (Apparently embarrassment is a great warmer up the soul because throughout this whole thing, I do not remember being cold.) It turns out it wasn't my landlord but one of my neighbors. At first he probably thought I was having a cigarette outside but when he saw how cranky I probably looked at how desperately my dog wanted to go inside, he figured it out and offered me to come in and warm-up. I grabbed Sadie's leash and we stood in his doorway.

And that's how I met my neighbors. It turns out really nice and interesting and they like Sadie too, which is always a plus.

My landlord arrived twenty minutes later, a big smile on his face. "I hope you weren't waiting too long!" He said as he opened my door. While he was there, he showed me how to work my fireplace. Turns out it was open, causing me to lose heat. Good to know!

I quickly got dressed and headed to work, where everyone I had heard about my ordeal. The same thing the same morning (the pajama lock-out due to a dog) had even happened to one of the managers!

I was thinking about not writing for my lockout because it makes me look kind of stupid. But when I realize on this Thanksgiving day is that everyone that was involved that day from the cashier at the gas station to my boss at work was very understanding and compassionate. It made me realize how nice people are, which is probably kind of silly thing to realize that one that all of us need to remember about a little bit more often. The way hope you don't have to get locked outside to do it.

This very morning, I was taking out the trash when the door slammed behind me. That's right, locked out again. (I haven't had time to spare key made up yet.) The same girl was working at the gas station. "Oh, you need the phone, don't you?" She said, not all annoyed but definitely noticing the pajamas again. And everyone involved was great about the whole thing, again. I guess sometimes you have to learn a lesson twice.

So Happy Thanksgiving to you, and yes, I'm getting a spare key first thing tomorrow morning.