"I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends"

I am sitting here chuckling away to myself in front of my warm toasty fire. Why? Well, despite my best intentions of being to the bus stop early, I was running my usual squeaking the last seconds in before my lovely driver pulled away froom the curb. Today was slightly different though, in that I started the vehicle on time only to discover that the usual squeal had escalated a bit and there were some funny lights on the dashboard. Buses wait for no one so after mild worry, I drove around to park at Lisa's. Except the bus was already there so that meant Ailish diving out of the van and legging it for the door before I parked. Sigh. I got it into the driveway and I thought I would leaving it running. There were more lights flashing and so after checking what I could, I asked my friend to get Ms. K onto the bus so I could drive it to the shop.

That was not to be. I backed out of her drive and that was it. Period. The van squawked once, ticked like the crocodile from Peter Pan a few times, and then...shut completely up. Now, you will notice that the van is deader than a doornail, and that I was reversing. Of course, it is on a corner and of course it is on the main bus lane for three different bus companies: school buses, city buses and site buses. To top it off, it is on a slight angle.

There is no good day for this type of thing to happen, but it is nice that I didn't have to work. I texted people that I was supposed to meet and then started to rock it out. As I was at my friends, I walked back into the house to find Ms. K doing piano practice and ready to go to school. Awesome! I borrowed the phone book to get a tow truck and called the dealership where they had two cancellations and so...after a 45 minutes wait...there went the van. Meanwhile, I called folk and rearranged my life. I stood outside and flagged down buses and asked them to radio their cohorts so that the van didn't add any dents. My friend offered me hot tea and a ride to wherever I needed to go. My other friends weighed in with the same offer. Did I mention I was blessed? I called to request a vehicle, and discovered that it was indeed available. After another call, I had permission to rock and roll with the little wee car.

Yes, the song in my head is currently "I get by with a little help from my friends." The tow truck company was fabulous and quick. The dealership has promised to look after it today if possible. My friends have taken care of me, my kids and provided transportation (which in my life is crucial). This might be an aggravating event, but there has been a lot of humor, laughter and shared experience with this. From the bottom of my grateful heart, THANK YOU!

You know, I had a funny feeling that I needed to get the van in for servicing. I really should start listening better to that still small voice. Sometimes, I wish life didn't have to throw mud pies in my face for me to notice. But then, mud pies are fun. I guess I have the time to deal with this after all. Lol.