I paid the mortgage, didn't I?

Unfortunately, in my often-frazzled world as a new mom, that is the equivalent of discarding and forgetting about it.

When I came home a few days later and there was a message on our voicemail from the mortgage company, I knew something was definitely wrong.

I scattered the floor of the playroom with the current favorites – blocks and board books – and attempted to investigate the mortgage mystery.

I went to my bank’s Web site and looked to see if the check had cleared and began to get an uneasy feeling as I scanned the recent checks and saw that it was not there.

Mama just needs a minute sweetie. I’ll be right there…

Still convinced that I had sent it on the eighth, along with all the other checks that I could now see had cleared, I called our mortgage company.

The person who answered my call – eventually, after plenty of annoying music and insistence that I could get all my questions answered online – was really nice but matter of fact about the situation.

The check had not been received. The payment was past due. We owed an additional $60.69 and failure to make payment immediately would negatively affect our credit rating.

Where’s Spot? Can you find Spot? I’m almost done honey…

Despite my discomfort with the whole world of online banking, bill-paying, shopping etc., I paid our mortgage, plus the extra sixty bucks (ouch) online.

That night over dinner I filled my husband in on the day’s adventure, while adding that I was sure I had mailed the check on time (even though I was honestly beginning to question my own story).

We chatted about the possibility of setting up online bill paying as we got our daughter ready for bed.

And then we settled into what’s becoming our treasured nighttime routine – hanging out on the floor in the playroom, catching up on the day as Lily shows her Papa her latest tricks.

Clapping, waving, standing up and sitting down, and standing up and sitting down, and standing up…

My husband will often say, ‘Wow - she wasn’t doing that yesterday (or this morning)’ as he smiles with pride.

My favorite moments are when she does something for the very first time and we get to experience it together.

Like her first crawl steps, when my husband somewhat casually told me that she was crawling, assuming that I had been watching her do it all day. As I tripped over various baby toys trying to grab the video camera to capture the moment, he realized that he was witnessing a first!

Crawl steps, playing, bedtime routines…wait a minute! This column is about my missing mortgage payment. (See how easy it is to get distracted?)

The last 10 months have been absolutely amazing – and exhausting.

And with diaper changes and non-stop nursing sessions and driving all over the state while my little one naps, I have become an organizational disaster. (Not that I was particularly organized pre-baby. At least now I have an excuse.)

Unfortunately, my mortgage company doesn’t really care about my little darling’s milestones.

Or the fact that paying bills, doing laundry, writing a column, or just trying to complete a thought is all done in three-minute intervals, while doing 10 other things, or at some crazy hour when I should most definitely be sleeping.

So needless to say, it was not a big surprise when several days after the phone calls with the mortgage company, I reached into the front pocket of the diaper bag and felt the shiny window of an envelope.

I pulled it out and, sure enough, there was my missing mortgage payment. Damn.

Apparently, I wrote the check, stamped and sealed the envelope, and carried it out to the car.

Basically, I did 90 percent of the work of paying the bill. I just missed the crucial last step – mailing it.

I guess maybe it is time to set up automatic bill payment - now if only I could find a few minutes to do it.

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