But, while I am excited about getting to see our little ones who live so far away ... (19-hour road trip) ...
... I am antsy at the same time. This hasn't been the greatest month when it comes to my being in the car.
It started out earlier this month when I was leaving a parking lot after making a short presentation at a local VFW. It was dark when I was leaving, and I was the only one out there. So ... naturally ... I was in a hurry to get into the vehicle and get moving. I started backing ... alas! What was that grinding noise?
I suddenly realized it was a pickup truck that had parked beside me after I'd already gone into the VFW. Cringing, I jumped out of the car thinking there was probably nothing to it. We've all had those initial thoughts. Nothing to it. That would be wrong.
And I was horrified. I'd just spoken to a group of Veterans. Whose was the pickup? Which one would I have to bring back out to see the damage? Honestly, I thought I might faint. Or run. Or run, then faint. But no. I was brought up better than that, and by parents who were ethical and Christian. I have tried to follow in that same path.
So I did the bravest thing a wife can do: call the husband, the man who has (seriously) put up with my nonsense and mishaps for 43+ years. I remember another time I called him in an emergency: when I had fallen and split open the back of my head. This parking lot situation wasn't quite as bad, but I've had to evaluate which time was worse ...
Down to the VFW he came, ready to shield me from any flying anger. We went inside and faced the music together. It was really quite okay, though I shed a few tears (call me a baby - I don't care) ... The truck belonged to a National Guardsman, and GEICO took care of the problem without a hitch!
Less than three weeks later, in the same vehicle, we are driving down a country road that leads into our neighborhood. Sidebar: I never go the speed limit on that road because it is a two-lane road and has woods on both sides. But the husband is not as fearful as I.
Suddenly, a deer leaped out of the woods and across the road; we struck it full force on my side. I screamed at the horrible, sickening smack and the jolt we felt. I cried at the thought of that deer who'd survived a horrible summer, trying to get out of the heat, find water, and find living plants to eat ... only to get stuck down by a Toyota Hylander.
GEICO again ... but this time, a $500 deductible but no time to fix the car before we leave on our LONG road trip. The front bumper torn off almost; the grill broken ... car repair place said we can use duct tape, which husband suggested. He put tie-bands on the bumper to the steel, then covered with duct tape. We are charming.
Then the daughter called. They are expecting a huge snow storm in Nebraska, with up to 12".
I'm just hoping that duct tape will keep us together; that my one-eyed Pomeranian will keep me warm; and that the old metal potty we carried on trips when the kids were little will not have to serve its purpose again because of snow drifts ...
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