Typical Craziness

Today was such a crazy day, but I don’t know why I was surprised … most of my days seem to go this way. It’s not that I don’t plan well, because I’m really good at planning. Really good. It’s not that I don’t work my plan. Because I am usually fairly good at sticking to my plans. It’s that circumstances seem to intervene to wreck my plans entirely.

Today’s plan was actually pretty simple. Go to the mechanic in the morning (very early) for an overdue oil change, routine maintenance (“maint req” light means it’s time), and a check of the “skronk” in the front end when I turn or stop. Then get groceries and lunch, then take the kids to the park to play, then home to fold, iron, put away, sort, and otherwise tackle the massive mountains of clothing in my living room and laundry area, while sending the kids to play in the street. (Family joke. We live in a family-friendly neighbourhood where the kids love to get out in the street to skateboard, scooter, bike, or play ball — basketball or toss-the-football, mostly.)

Sounds simple and straightforward. Unless you are me.

I couldn’t get the kids going this morning. Even though they went to bed at 21:00, and I went to bed at 01:00. I was up at 06:00 and going strong. I was ready to go in plenty of time to get to the mechanic’s when they opened at 07:00. But the kids weren’t. I finally got us out of the house, but un-fed, at 06:45. So we stopped and got Chick-fil-A for them, and Bagel Company for me. We got to the mechanic’s at 07:30.  Not a problem, because they weren’t yet terribly busy.

Rick (my wonderful mechanic) comes out after a while and tells me that the oil change and routine maintenance are straightforward, no problem. But the skronk is a bad thing. A $900 bad thing. Something about struts and sway bar links and “very dangerous to drive in this condition.” But I don’t have $900, so I ask him if I can make it around town for 4 to 6 weeks until I can save up a bit. Rick hesitates, then talks it through and decides yeah, I can do it if I drive very carefully. (Vicki, Nikki, Aaron, and both my brothers can just wipe those smirks off their faces. 😉 ) So I tell him to do everything else, but hold off on the skronk. He says he will tighten the “something” (cars always have these inexplicable parts with unbelievable names. sigh) to make it safer, and to get back as soon as ever I can.

We leave the mechanic’s at about 10:30, and head to the grocery. I’m a little nervous after Rick’s warnings, and now the front end is kind of rattly and still skronking. So I’m thinking, we will make these stops and then go home, and I’m going to check my credit card balances and see what combination of cards I can use to pay for this work. Schnuck’s, Whole Foods, Easy Way, and then home. The rattle is working on my fears, and I’m wondering if I am going to drive across the river tonight after all. It’s now 13:00. We get the mail. In the mail are two checks, totalling about $500. w00t! I call Rick, and he says if I can get there by 14:00, he can fix it while we wait this afternoon.

So I quickly feed the kids and empty the car of groceries and put away the perishables. Pile us all back in the car and head to the bank. We’re pulling up to an intersection, and suddenly we are surround by motorcycle cops. We have to sit there through two entire light cycles while some motorcade (wasn’t a funeral; no idea what big-shot was getting in my way) travels through. And another cycle after they clear the intersection. Bank went fairly smoothly and quickly after we got there. But then on the road to the mechanic’s, we get stuck behind an MLGW truck doing 15 in a 40 on a very narrow, two-lane road. No passing. Sigh.

Finally got to the mechanic’s at 14:15, and were there a couple more hours. The boys were getting pretty restless, bless their hearts. But we got done just a few minutes before my brother came to pick up #1 Son to take him for swimming lessons. Number 2 son was not that pleased at not getting to go, but this is supposed to be preparation for #1 Son going to Camp Kia Kima next week. We don’t want him distracted by his younger brother while he’s in the pool practising. So I took him for pizza and ice cream before we headed across the bridge to our karate class. Which went smoothly. Thank goodness, because I was totally wiped out. I had to sit out of weapons training.

But I guess, all in all, that despite the setbacks and the fact that I didn’t get the afternoon to do the things I planned, I did get some important things done. And the car is now safe, and hopefully won’t need anything major for a good while. So we will try again tomorrow on the whole laundry and clothes-sorting thing. I can only hope that tomorrow is a lot less crazy.

Tags: automobiles, Family Life, groceries, mechanic, True Stories