A LONG TIME COMING

It's official, after 5 years of dating and 7 years of marriage, the Mr. and I finally opened up a joint checking account.

It has been years and years and years, alright, 7 years to be exact (but it does feel like a lot longer than that), since I have had a checking account. 7 years since I have balanced a check book, deposited checks, or made withdrawls.

7 long years.

So you can imagine that when I went to the bank for the first time to make a withdrawl I sort of embarrased myself. Actually, not sort of embarrased myself, I really embarrased myself.

I am sure you are intrigued now, right? You are dying to know what it is I did to embarass myself so.

Well, as I said, I went to the bank to make my very first withdrawl from this joint checking account. No problems there, right? I made my way up to the square table found in the middle of the room, where you can write out your withdrawl or deposit slips, and do whatever else needs doing before getting in line to see a bank teller. I set down my things and got to looking for a checking account withdrawl slip. I looked, and looked and could not seem to find one in the neatly stacked piles of different slips. Hmmm... I kept looking through them as if one would magically appear, but unfortunately it did not. I saw some of the other people at the table looking out the corner of their eye at me, probably wondering what the heck I was doing. I almost wanted to stop and say, "Give me a break here folks, it has been 7 years since I have had to do this sort of stuff." But I thought better about it as I figured it would make me look pretty pathetic.

I finally gave in and walked up to one of the tellers:

"Excuse me sir, I cannot find and checking withdrawl slips over there."

I received a sort of confused blank stare in return from this young teller boy.

"Oh. You have to write out a check to cash for the amount you want to withdraw and sign it."

Me, laughing: "Gosh, silly me! It has just been so long since I have had a checking account, I don't know what I am doing anymore. My husband has always taken care of the finances so there was never any need for me to have an account."

Darn it that sounded pathetic.

Another blank stare in my direction. At this time I decided to quit while I was ahead, walk away and fill out my check.

I was hoping as I waited in line that I would not get the teller that I had embarrassed myself thoroughly with earlier. Turns out I was not so lucky. I could tell as I handed him my check that he was trying not to laugh at my situation. As he busied himself with my transaction, I started thinking, and decided I needed to start talking again, defending my "slip up" of sorts. Always a bad idea.

"I am so sorry about earlier, how embarrassing for me not even knowing how to take money out of a checking account, right? Gosh.... I really should have remembered how to do all this, although I thought I remember back when I had an account that there were actual withdrawl slips that I used to take money out of my account. I guess I just don't remember ever having to write a check!"

This time I received a response from the young teller boy, along with a look of pity : "It's alright Mam, really." He handed me my cash, which I took, and shoved in my purse. I gave him a quick "Thanks", turned around, and made a very swift exit out of the building.

Clearly seven years was too long to go without having a checking account and frequenting the bank. Clearly. Lesson learned.