I confess. In July, I received a speeding ticket. It was shortly after relocating my Dad to the Assisted Living facility near our home and incorporating his more demanding care into our daily lives.

He had desperately needed me to run an errand for him before work. Like most stressed and crazed people, I had run the errand and found myself running late and the traffic on this unaccustomed route heavier than expected.

Thus, I came driving over the bridge on Durham, just north of 1-10, at a sinful speed of 43 miles per hour in a designated 35 mile per hour zone. As I began my descent, there stood a Police Officer holding a radar gun and I was motioned into a line of cars, with 8 of them in front of me. I waited my turn patiently. While tears stung my eyes at the injustice of it all, I knew I had topped the bridge going a tad to fast and there were no relevant excuses. I had to own up to my mistake. I accepted my ticket politely and arrived at work even later than expected.

This was all fine and I knew I was eligible to take Defensive Driving. No problem. I carried the ticket in to the office so I would remember to send in the form. It became buried under some papers and promptly forgotten. As it was, I was running constantly between summer programs for the kid, increased care demands for Dad and work demands that had me hopping.

Somewhere around August, it dawned on me that I hadn’t sent in the paperwork. Yep. I missed the deadline. I called 3-1-1 in a panic and asked what I could do and was there a warrant for my arrest. I’m basically a law-abiding citizen and really did want to comply. The kind staff gave me specific directions on how to handle the situation.

Of course, handling it involved going to Court – on Mykawa Road – a long ways from the point of the ticket origin, my office and my home. Fortunately, near the VA hospital where my Dad was spending lots of time.

In September, I went to the Court and was impressed with the efficiency of the operation. I told them I simply wanted to take Defensive Driving and had missed the date to submit. There were no questions asked and I was granted the right to complete the course.

They gave me an extended period of time to take the course. Of course, who knew that between my two jobs, role as Mom and wife, that my Dad would be going to the ER constantly and spend a long, tedious week in the hospital. Somehow, in spite of it, I managed to take my course and received the certification a few weeks before the deadline for submission.

Then, once again, I promptly forgot. I had done everything – except submit. My final submission date was Dec. 21. Well, Dad had been in the hospital and back to the ER that weekend and I was very behind for Christmas. I just wasn’t conscious of submitting that paperwork. Again, I missed the deadline. Again, I promptly called 3-1-1 and was told not to panic. They would grant me another court date but I would need to see the Judge and explain the situation.

This time – I made note of that date – 1/21 – everywhere. I could not do this again. Of course, Dad was back in the hospital and back in the ER just before the date but I had this one pegged. I checked with him twice yesterday to be sure I could make it to court and I lined up the wonderful Godmother to pick up the kid from school and keep him entertained. For, would you believe, my Court date was at 6:30 on Friday night. Really? Hey, I wasn’t complaining because I was so appreciative of the opportunity to make things right.

This time, I was to appear at 1400 Lubbock. I was prepared to spend the whole evening there. Had my briefcase with work to do, my trusty smart phone, a book and a bottle of water to settle in for a long wait.

I found a parking place, breezed through security and found my name on a monitor that included thousands. Still, it clearly told me where to go. I asked directions from the kind security guard and found my way to the appropriate court.

As I walked in, I was immediately directed to the Bailiff who politely inspected my court date info and directed me to have a seat in order behind another person. Within 15 minutes, I was called up to speak to Judge Sherilyn Edwards. She was kind and polite and even wished me luck with my Father’s care. My ticket was promptly dismissed. I was in and out of there in 20 minutes tops!

I hope you don’t get the wrong idea about me. Normally, I’m a very together person and would never let something like this happen. I’ve been a bit stressed these last few months and admittedly, balls have dropped.

However, I have dealt with and listened to the problems with the City’s Municipal Courts for years. Given these experiences and my knowledge, I had the absolute lowest expectation and a bit of fear.

So, kudos to the Municipal Courts. I was stunned at the number of people promptly processed through their situations and the kindness from all the staff people. Congrats to all the city teams that have worked to make the Courts better. Something in government is actually working well!