karma

Two kids (and a mom, plus now dad) with rotavirus. It makes me wonder if this is karmic retribution for something I've done earlier in my life. Surely it must be, because this is horrible. But I can't think of what a did that warrants this.

Was it for canceling my freshman roommate's afternoon class so she had to get up for an 8 am class?

Was it for letting the mouse go in the suite bathroom, when I knew our suitemates had a mouse phobia?

Was it for hiding all the spare rolls of toilet paper before a long weekend? (Hey, how could I know they would come down with a stomach flu?)

Was it for the horrible rumor involving an incurable STD and an ex-boyfriend I started in high school?

Was it for the cans of anchovies left in said ex-boyfriend's mailbox on a hot summer Saturday night? I imagine they were pretty ripe by the time the mail came on Monday.

Or possibly the Cosmo article about, ahem, "male enhancement" anonymously mailed to a fellow high school classmate? (Hey, gimme a break, this was over 15 years ago, OK?)

Surely not about the creative decorating of a certain band director's yard. Pumpkins, instant mashed potatoes, toilet paper - that's all just artistic expression. At least the first dozen or so times.

Or giving a dear male friend the nickname "Speedy", which followed him well into college?

Or assisting in superglueing shut a door to an (occupied) library study room in college?

Or scaring the bejeezus out of some poor pizza delivery guy, also done in college? We inadvertently got free pizza out of the deal, I didn't know the scream would be that loud or carry that far at night.

For not saying anything, just silently observing when the pet snake escaped from some guy's bag in the middle of a Saturday morning chemistry exam? Ahhh, but the mass hysteria that ensued was delicious.

Or getting a ticket in my roommate's car? With her registration. And, perhaps, a license with my picture and her name. *blush* (Hey, she was over 21. Everyone had a fake ID back then, right?)

Was it for lining our section leader's desk drawer with plastic and filling it with water and goldfish in power school? (Hey, this one wasn't all me, it was a group effort!)

Or adjusting his nametag to be somewhat insensitive to his speech impediment? "H-H-H-Helzer"

Or hiding his alarm clock in a random locker and setting it to go off in the middle of a class where the instructor hated him?

Surely karma isn't that petty. And while I know there are many larger transgressions, I feel those have been paid in full.