‘I can’t believe I just did that!’ – the day being frazzled led me to accidentally shoplift

This is probably one of the most embarrassing things that has ever happened to me.

Baby brain and lack of sleep have led me to do some very silly things. One day I kept tapping my debit card trying to pay for groceries, wondering why it wasn't working only for the shop clerk to inform me that I was trying to pay with a drivers license. So when I say I've never been more mortified in my life, trust me, the bar is set high. A few weeks ago I realised I had a family wedding coming up and needed to get a new pair of shoes to match the dress I had bought. I was doing a food shop with my two children and spotted the clothing section of the store. I went over and quickly tried on a pair of shoes in my size before my daughter got too fussy in her pram. They fit and I thought 'grand I'll get those' and tossed them in the basket underneath the buggy and headed off to get the rest of the shopping. When we got to the tills the queue was incredibly long and my daughter wasn't having any of it. It was really hot in the store and she had been in the pram longer than she usually would be so she started to complain. I tried everything I could to pacify her but she wasn't having any of it. When we got to the till I got everything out of the shopping basket as quickly as possible and packed up the bags just as fast. We paid and I got her out into the fresh air and she fell asleep. Phew! My relief was short lived though when I got home and realised what I had done. As I was folding up the pram I spotted the shoes and slowly realised that I had never paid for them. There was a lot of 'no, no, no!' followed by 'what am I going to do?' I had been in such a rush and so frazzled that I had forgotten that they were there. I knew I had to return them but had no idea how I was going to explain it to the store. I returned to the store the next day with the shoes and my receipt for the other shopping. I went to the customer service counter, and completely red-faced began to explain what had happened. The shop assistant listened, while I panicked that the would ban me from ever coming back or even call the police. Instead, she thanked me for bringing back the shoes and being so honest. To say I was shocked was an understatement but I was glad she knew I hadn't meant to steal them and relieved to have the whole mess sorted out. I paid for the shoes and went on my way. I'm not gonna lie though, I still feel awkward when I go back. I keep thinking are they laughing at the mad woman who walked out without paying or keeping an eye on me incase I abscond with anything else? At least it made for a good story to tell at the wedding.