Frozen windows and crystals forming outside are signs that it is desperately cold outside. This is winter with a vengeance and today, well, vengeance came with the blasting of the alarm. Falling into routine, I hustled the girls out of bed and began to get ready when the shiny alarm face triggered the LATE response. Today was specialist at the hospital day for my eldest.
SUGAR
Turbo mode hits and I chased the children around the house, into snowsuits and grabbed breakfast to go. So far, time is salvageable so I drop my youngest at a friends so she can catch the bus and I head off. Through the four way stop, to the lights on Rainbow Creek and the abs light flashes with the battery light. Uh oh. Pondering it I kept going until suddenly more lights flash and I turned for home. I didn't make it. The van stuttered into a parking lot. My eldest and I started to walk for home, only to find that the parking lot was well fenced and we had to go around. We were already blue with cold after 15 minutes. My phone was already dead from the cold (or yes I would have kept trying to reach friends). It was only -33 outside - almost tropical. After glancing at my eldest, I made a decision I thought I would never make.
I waved over a truck. The man pulled over and I asked him for a ride home. Pierre - I bless you from the roots of my heart. He arranged his back seat for miss and I clambered into the front seat and he drove us home to warmth and the truck parked in the drive. As he drove, I just sighed and said "A...remember that rule about not talking to strangers? And the one about never hitchhiking? And the one about never getting in a vehicle with someone you don't know?" "I'm sorry to confuse you but you were getting far too cold and this was survival first." After all, there are some amazing people out there and not everyone is crazy. I was so grateful. It was just a moment. To the man in the truck. THANK YOU.
So, the next step was "borrowing" the truck. I scrambled into the house, and rifled the cupboard for the spare key kept there and went back out to drive my eldest to the hospital for her appointment. Now, these appointments are booked months in advance and the specialist only comes once a month and we were already late by this point. I drove. As we neared the hospital, the flat tire light flashed onto the dash. Shaking, I pulled into the parking lot and dropped miss at the door. The light did not go away. I pulled onto the street and parked. By this point, I was in a state of disbelief. I checked on the pulmonary function test and since I wasn't needed I made some critical calls from the hospital wall phone to the mechanics and towing companies, the tire place and truck boss to fess up. Oh and of course, work - since I wasn't there either. Sigh.
I guess I looked like I was in rough shape as I had all sorts of offers of coffee, tissues, moral support. The nurse that knows us well, managed to check up on me and miss. The good news was that she finished her test and got to the Dr. quickly in the end, despite being late. The bad news was that the test wasn't perfect. Redo? The good news was that despite a wee glitch - she is good for six months now and the medication is working for her asthma. Wahooo! Bad new was that she needs a puffer for safety in the cold. She will lose it pronto. Sigh.
Next stop: the truck. Note to self - when "borrowing" a truck, you wind up on the hook for the maintenance of that vehicle. The nasty low pressure light was still on and at my wits end, I limped the truck to the tire shop. Walking in, I just asked the staff "please fix my day." I was shaking with cold and miss wasn't much better so they offered hot chocolate and coffee. Meanwhile, the fellow mechanic wandered out to check the tires without his coat! No, there was one flat tire on the truck. There were two.
SUGAR
The tires were fixed and finally I got miss to school. Checking on the van - it was still there so tried to see what was wrong. Yeah, that didn't go well and I got more cold. So, I headed for work and actually got some things done there and defrosted. If there is a hot spot on the planet, I swear it is my office. The process did take more coffee though. After work, I headed for home and THE VAN WAS STILL THERE. No tow truck. So, that meant more phone calls and more aggravation. I guess the van might be pooched for my Edmonton trip.
Silver lining moments are present in every bad day though.
- The evening activities happened as planned.
- My eldest got her swim badge
- My youngest got her special book order
- My friends really rallied around and offered help once they realized I had a problem.
- We are safe and sound at home
- My family is awesome and able to help me make the rest of the week happen.
That doesn't bear thinking about...so yes...thank you that this day was today and not Friday.
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