If you are a coffee drinker it sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it?  Being showered in lattes.

But only if you are speaking figuratively instead of literally.

While Anna and Christa were going to Anna’s dentist appointment this morning, Sarah and I were set loose on the streets of Chiang Mai.  I chose to start the morning’s adventures at the ‘Bucks with a vanilla latte.  Then Sarah and I went across the street to say good morning to the Ronald McDonald statues at the fast food chain of the same name.  (It’s like we never left the States…)

If you know Sarah at all you know that the little banshee is constantly in motion. A slight bit fearful of the scary clown Sarah was up and down those stone steps of the restaurant before I could bat an eye.  At one point she bolted down the steps towards the busy street.  I tried to follow at the same speed.  Mistake number one.

Running in flip-flops is not really my strong point.  In my rush to protect my child I nearly missed the last step and almost tumbled to my doom.  Instead I used the railing and caught myself with my free hand.  The problem is that my committed hand was holding a vanilla latte.  The crazy momentum of the near crash caused the mixed espresso and steamed milk to arc out of the cup’s mouthpiece like a rogue wave crashing into the bow of a ship.  I just had a split second to be relieved that I hadn’t fallen or broken a leg when I was consequentally doused in the side of the head with pure caffeine goodness.  Definitely a first for me.

Only my pride was burned by the stunt.  Luckily the busy night market street had not officially woken up yet at the early hour of 9:00 a.m.  Only a few pedestrians witnessed the hilarious slapstick performance.  I can’t verify the number of people present because I was too embarrassed to make eye contact with anyone who may have actually witnessed the event.  Needless to say, it’s a bit difficult to recover from that kind of thing.  I think I stopped, grimaced, and wiped the foam from my brow.

Sarah was none the wiser that anything out-of-the-ordinary had occurred.  I have often wondered if Anna is one of the clumsiest kids on the planet.  I guess now I know where she gets it from.

And to think our Thailand adventures have just begun…