Adventures. That’s what we’re having. So I thought I’d bring you along, you know – virtually – so you can have some adventures, too.
Remember New Year’s Eve? I do. Remember that here in the Frozen Mountaintops it was a balmy -11 (that’s negative eleven) degrees? At eight o’clock? I remember. It was very nice to be at the home of a radiant-floor kind of friend. And remember that Husband took Kid 1 and a few of her friends to the rec center for the big dance? Remember that? And that 15-year-old girls don’t like to wear coats? Because they’re going to be inside?
And then the minivan coughed, sputtered, wheezed, and collapsed?
Remember?
By a significant Godly mercy, Husband and the Coatless Ones were in the driveway of the W. family. Nobody froze to death (except possibly the minivan). Through a series of further significant mercies, the girls got to their dance, the minivan got into the hands of our mechanic friend, Husband returned to the gathering, and the year ended.
*Note: We are very blessed to have two cars. The aforementioned minivan, and Husband’s Mini Cooper (because we’re a mini family). And not to sound ungrateful AT ALL, but do you remember how many kids I have? And do you know how many seats a Cooper has? So what I’m saying is, we’d be fine minivanless, if Husband didn’t work 45 minutes away or it wasn’t many degrees below zero or our Kids could drive themselves places without parents in the car (because at least they could all fit). But as it stands, we need some help.
Enter my parents. Or not, really, because they’re in the Midwest (where it is at least 60 degrees warmer than it is at my house) playing with the Indiana family and the Ohio family. They have a car inside their garage – that garage that’s 40 minutes away from my house. Nobody’s using that car this week. Yea! So I said, Hey, Dad, can I borrow your car? To which he (naturally) responded, Sure, Bec, anything else? And since I’m a girl who’s easily satisfied, I said, Nah, thanks. Enjoy your vacation.
And then Husband and I went car looking.
Oh, I hope that is an adventure that you don’t have to engage in.
Misery. Humiliation. Hope-dashing madness.
**Drama Alert**
Hm. Sorry about that. But you know the feeling of having spent several months narrowing down the list of “next-car” ideas until you find just the right one, only to get to the lot, drool a little, check your teeth in the shiny paint job, and open the door and SMELL STALE CIGARETTE SMOKE? *Attention smokers: Thanks a lot. That is all.*
Every car we looked at, every one we drove, elicited the same response from me.
“Meh.”
So I gave up, sent Husband on his way to finish the job, and went and got my Dad’s car. I borrowed his house key from the neighbor to the west. She was lovely, truly. I thought, how nice to have such a lovely neighbor. I have lovely neighbors, too. But none of them has my house key. In fact, I don’t even have a house key. I just always use the garage. Hm. I wonder if that will someday come back to bite me? Nah. What are the odds of that happening? I got in the car. I fought with first gear. I won. I drove through the canyon, arrived home to single-digit temperature, but a bunch of sunshine, and then keyed my garage code into the little electronic pad on the wall.
Nothing.
Not even a flash of light telling me that I’d somehow put in the wrong code.
I punched it again. Seventeen times. Nothing. I walked through the Path of Awesomeness that Kid 4 made for sledding. I found the kitchen door locked, which I pretty much expected, since I’m the one who locked it. I went around to the front door. Bolted, as it should be when I leave town. I kicked a wall for a while. Then I called Husband and whined. He laughed. And said that he was sorry. And told me to pry the key-pad apart and replace the battery (by going to the store to buy a 9-volt battery just like the ten that are in his locker, right inside the sealed garage door). But I couldn’t get the keypad to open.
To recap: I don’t have a house key. My garage door opener is in the dead van, locked up at our mechanic friends (secondary) shop, where nobody is working. I have an extra key, of course, and it’s right there, inside the house.My stupid keypad is dead. I have a trunk full of produce from Costco, which is liable to freeze.
*Sniffle*
Husband tells me he’s pretty sure there’s a window unlocked. I snort that snort of disbelief. No way. I lock those leaky windows tight as soon as winter hits. I tell him this as I trudge (oh, yeah – you better believe I was trudging) through knee-deep snow to the base of the window he mentioned. Off of which I jimmied the screen (without any visible damage, thank you). I pushed. The window opened.
!
!!
I know. I thanked my clever Husband and went to find some small Kids (walking home from school) who would be light enough to boost over my head and into said window. They didn’t actually recognize me, as I was driving Grandpa’s car. But when I stopped the car directly in front of them, Kids 3 and 4 hopped in, eager to rescue me from my series of misadventures.
Which they did. Both of them felt the need to go through the window, snowy legs and all, and Kid 4 opened the garage door so I could put the car inside, and the groceries away. At this point I was feeling grateful that I don’t swear, because I might have burnt my Kids’ ears off. Also that I don’t drink, because there was still plenty of driving to do.
Then I got Husband’s phone call. He found it. He did. The car of our dreams. The dark gray, smoke-free, headlight-functional, leather-heated-seat fantasy mobile. Almost within our budget. He brought it home. We petted it. We drove it. We took it out into the cobbled, snowy, icy, and curvy streets. We pushed the breaks and the car stopped. We put it in 4-wheel, and it went. We turned on the headlights, and I could see in front of me. We put Kids into it, and they FIT.
Then he had to take it back to the dealership. I waved goodbye (to him, really) and felt peace.
Peace. Remember peace? Isn’t it good?
Fast forward. Purchase the car. Bring it home. Feel no remorse. On the contrary. Feel the ridiculous giddy joy of loving a THING. Once, my friend GV said to me, “I know I shouldn’t be attached to a car, but I LOVE MY CAR.” GV, I hear you.
I hear you. Even if it solidifies my lack of character, I love my car.
Bring on the adventures.
(16) Comments for this blog
I love new cars. I only get in through my garage too. I should probably learn from this, but I wonder if I will.
I love new cars. I only get in through my garage too. I should probably learn from this, but I wonder if I will.
YAY for a new WORKING car!!!! And yay for parents being out of town so you could borrow their car! And BOO for -11 degree weather…I hear ya’ sister!
YAY for a new WORKING car!!!! And yay for parents being out of town so you could borrow their car! And BOO for -11 degree weather…I hear ya’ sister!
Wow! That is some adventure!!! And scary! I’m so glad you got into the house and got a new car. Yay! I heart new cars. =)
Wow! That is some adventure!!! And scary! I’m so glad you got into the house and got a new car. Yay! I heart new cars. =)
I read this and laughed out loud. Literally. A lot. Not because I’m laughing at your adventures, but because two weeks ago, we left for church without a set of house keys or a garage door opener. This normally is not a problem for me because I never lock my house, because, well, I have this denial problem of thinking that nothing bad will ever happen in our small-ish town. My husband however, is a compulsive door locker. And that Sunday afternoon found my husband climbing a ladder to stand on the second story roof in the 2 feet of brand new snow, in his freshly dry cleaned suit, to break the screen and open the window to get in the house.
Maybe we should leave a house key with our neighbors too. We left a garage door opener with a neighbor once, and he promptly lost it. So maybe not that neighbor.
And I’m glad you got the heated leather seats. Because where we live, and with lots of kids, neither is really optional in my opinion.
I read this and laughed out loud. Literally. A lot. Not because I’m laughing at your adventures, but because two weeks ago, we left for church without a set of house keys or a garage door opener. This normally is not a problem for me because I never lock my house, because, well, I have this denial problem of thinking that nothing bad will ever happen in our small-ish town. My husband however, is a compulsive door locker. And that Sunday afternoon found my husband climbing a ladder to stand on the second story roof in the 2 feet of brand new snow, in his freshly dry cleaned suit, to break the screen and open the window to get in the house.
Maybe we should leave a house key with our neighbors too. We left a garage door opener with a neighbor once, and he promptly lost it. So maybe not that neighbor.
And I’m glad you got the heated leather seats. Because where we live, and with lots of kids, neither is really optional in my opinion.
What a frustrating series of adventures but what a sweet ending!
p.s. I ADORE my car. We’re tight.
What a frustrating series of adventures but what a sweet ending!
p.s. I ADORE my car. We’re tight.
This is the same love I have for my van. Deep and abiding. It’s been worth every penny.
This is the same love I have for my van. Deep and abiding. It’s been worth every penny.
Yay! I’m so glad you found a car you like–nay, that you LOVE! It’s a beautiful thing when you find the right one. I’m okay with my mini-van but not in love. I shouldn’t say that out loud because then something will happen to it. Good thing I’m typing.
Yay! I’m so glad you found a car you like–nay, that you LOVE! It’s a beautiful thing when you find the right one. I’m okay with my mini-van but not in love. I shouldn’t say that out loud because then something will happen to it. Good thing I’m typing.
What a great story Becca!! I kind of laughed just picturing it all…then I wanted to cry in your behalf! Gotta love the days that it is one thing right after the other!
So…I am dying to know…what kind of car did you get?
Oh and by the way…I totally hear ya on the smoke….YUCK!
Abbs
What a great story Becca!! I kind of laughed just picturing it all…then I wanted to cry in your behalf! Gotta love the days that it is one thing right after the other!
So…I am dying to know…what kind of car did you get?
Oh and by the way…I totally hear ya on the smoke….YUCK!
Abbs