Out Of Pocket

Yesterday while riding home on the train, I observed a mother and daughter. The mother was clearly upset, and had probably had a long day. The fact that her young daughter, who was sitting beside her, was ignoring her probably wasn't helping the poor woman. Finally she turns to the child and she says and not to gently either, "You have been out of pocket all day." The girl is clearly confused. She looks at her mother and says, "But I was never in my pocket." The harried mother laughed and hugged her daughter. The story would have had a Cinderellish ending had the girl not tried her luck later during the ride. In short, the mother ended up dragging the poor little girl, kicking and screaming, from the train.