All's well that ends well -- or, It Coulda Been Worse

I'm just going to get it off of my chest and out there -- tell my story and MOVE ON.  I am so over last weekend.

Saturday was a gorgeous day and full to the brim with indoor stuff.  It sort of wore me out.  I was in my jammies early, even though I knew that DH -- also with a full and busy day -- talked about going to the gallery reception for a friend's opening.  I think I was sort of hoping that he'd be too pooped or that I could beg off; usually, he doesn't mind if I beg off.  This time, he cajoled me into going... getting dressed, freshening up, fluffing up my hair, getting in the car, and... going.

Well, you know how that story ends.  I had a great time and I'm glad I went!

Sunday was the day to deliver Maddy and her things to school.  I don't remember whether or how much I've mentioned here, but we're down a couple of vehicles in the family -- Katie's is a total loss after she was rear-ended a few weeks ago (though there's still been no official declaration and I'm getting a bit miffed with insurance/handling) (what else is new?), and Maddy's had a little breakdown shortly thereafter.  My stepdad, Joe, is working on figuring out what's wrong with it (my old Saturn).  Katie's been riding her bike on days when the weather and her schedule cooperate; otherwise, we've been shuttling.  For the moment, Maddy is fine (and stationary) without a car.

I always tease that DH seems to be conveniently booked at an art fair on college move-in weekend -- and so it was!  This means that his van was occupied, as well.  Maddy was hoping to bring the loft and a futon and frame, for which the van would be required.  I had a brilliant brainstorm driving home from the reception on Saturday night, though!  Since the art fair had been set up on Saturday morning, didn't need to be torn down 'til Sunday night, and was conveniently located pretty close to home, why not swap vehicles for the day!  I could time it all so that I'd have the van back in time for loading up after the show.

In a perfect world.

I backed the van into the driveway on Sunday morning.  We pulled loft, futon and frame pieces from the garage rafters and loaded them into the van, along with the laundry baskets, backpacks, boxes, and duffels full of things a college student needs at school.

We hopped in, turned the key, and started blankly at the lights on the dashboard... the engine wasn't even TRYING to turn over.  There wasn't a click, not a hum, nothing snapped or banged or boomed... there was just NO-freakin'-THING.

I called Joe and pulled him away from working on Maddy's car (oh, the irony!) to come and look at the stupid van.  He determined that it was the starter -- not a quick fix.

We unloaded the laundry baksets, backpacks, boxes, and duffels from the van and reloaded them into Joe's Jeep; the big stuff wouldn't fit.  That stuff would all have fit into my car!

And there's the bright spot in this whole fiasco -- if DH had taken the van instead of my car on Sunday morning and the same scenario transpired, he'd have had an art fair booth in the middle of Cherry Street with a dead van in a nearby parking garage -- at about 6:00 p.m. after a two long (and very hot!) art fair days.  I don't even want to think about it.

So I took Maddy to school, unloaded, had lunch and went grocery shopping with her, then stopped to buy some rope on the way to the art fair, picking up Katie on the way, where we helped DH tear down and pack up.  Tying the panels on the top, we were surprised at how much fit in the Jeep... and maybe he doesn't need a full-size van when it comes to that... and I just had a few things in the car; given a little more time to think and plan, I'm sure they'd have fit in the Jeep.

A pickup truck pulled out right in front of me this morning, only a few blocks from home, and all I could think was, "Of course!"  And then I had to fight back tears -- because I "slept" a total of about 3 hours last night and this is just what happens!  Mere minutes earlier, I'd been thinking that I was actually happy that it was Monday!

Well, things have gone pretty smoothly since then (***knocking on wood***), and I'm determined to see steady improvement throughout the fun and busy week ahead!

 
In search of a pick-me-up picture, I came up with this little gem -- my nephew's first taste of birthday cake, two years ago!!  You can just "see" the sugar buzz, can't you?!

Comments

[Carole]

Car stuff is always such a hassle. And then add the emotional stuff about going back to college and yeah, you must have had a helluva weekend.

[margene]

No wonder you didn't want to deal with tomatoes! You've had a roller coaster summer, the type of roller coaster that's more scary than fun. Sending good (car) vibes and hugs to you!

[TeresaC]

All I can say is UGH!!! and hugs. I know those weekends well.

[Julia]

Awww, sympathy. Why do car problems always come in bunches? And moving is just a pain, no matter how well you plan. At least you had fun at the gallery opening!

[Jane]

This sounds like one of those times when you tell yourself to take one step at a time, and then your shoe gets stuck in the mud! Glad you made it through.

[lisa]

Hugs! A coworker's toddler had chocolate cake for the first time a month or two ago. She's 18 months or so. You could see her puzzling over the taste, really thinking about it in the first bite. Happy to take the second, and by then she was clearly a chocolate addict.

[Joy]

Serious overload! Hang in there and good luck with the vehicles.

[Amy]

Ugh, what a bunch of crap to deal with on an already-stressful weekend. On the other hand, I can't imagine such a cute face failing to bring a smile. :) Thanks for sharing it with us!

[Hillary]

Still catching up on my blog reading and I saw this. That sounds like an awful stressful weekend. It reminded me of the time that my mom's car broke down on the way to take me and all my stuff to college one year. I'm happy that you were at home rather than the side of the road like we were but I'm even happier that it all worked out for you.