This week has been so very crazy and full of exposures I certainly didn’t pick! My husband drives a 2017 Prius. It’s a hand-me-down from my aunt and uncle. We have had no problems with it in the 2.5 years we’ve had it.
Monday evening I got a text from him saying his car wouldn’t start. He was not at work, as I would have expected, he was at the Comedy Arena. When I asked why he was there he said he had thought it was Tuesday and came for their weekly Improv Jam. I was waiting for my daughter to come out of her aerial class, but as soon as she was out we went to pick him up. We did not have jumper cables in our cars, so we went home to get the ones we have in the garage and/or the charger that was loaned to us when my battery died last month (I really need to return that). Turns out our jumper cables are broken (one of the cables got pulled out of the clamp), so we decided we’d deal with it in the morning.
I had a friend that said we could borrow jumper cables from him, so we picked them up on the way to the car on Tuesday morning. Thankfully at 6:30 AM no one was parked on either side of him. Unfortunately, the cables still weren’t long enough to get to both places that needed to be hooked up in the Prius. Hubby had to be at work to train new hires, so I took him and we left the car, deciding we’d get new (longer) cables that evening. The kids were home from school and we had plans with Kim’s kids to go to Top Golf.
That evening, my kids came with me to pick him up, get cables, and jump his car. It worked! Being that it was actually Tuesday, I convinced him to stay for the Improv Jam to get some stress relief. The kids and I went to dinner, then home and to bed. When he went to his car to leave the Jam his car wouldn’t start again. He texted me, but I was already in bed and didn’t hear it (I told him he should have called instead). He tried contacting our insurance roadside assistance, but after two hours of waiting without any sign of rescue he finally got an Uber and made it home around 1 AM. I slept through this whole thing without a clue.
The next morning, once the kids were on the bus, I drove him to work, then went to my water aerobics class. Hubby had talked to the insurance company and they said they could send someone to jump the car that evening when he could be there so he could take it somewhere to get a new battery. I told him that I could take care of it while he was at work so he didn’t have to miss his Improv rehearsal.
Thankfully, his mom was home and she went with me to jump the car. She had never jumped a car before and was extremely nervous about it, thanks to the horror stories her father had told her about batteries exploding if you do it wrong. I assured her that as long as we followed the instructions, which were written on the cables and in the car’s manual, we would be fine (I was right). However, being a hybrid, I had a hard time figuring out if the car had started or not. It took a couple of tries, but we got it running.
I took the car to an auto parts store, like I had when my battery died, expecting to have them test the battery, say it needed to be replaced, and then replace it for me. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The battery to start the car is apparently in the trunk (despite jumping it from the front) and they said they don’t mess with those and I needed to go to the dealership. To the dealership I went.
While I waited for them to replace the battery I decided to wander around and look at cars. Which, of course, meant I was approached by a salesman. I held my own, though, and was able to tell him exactly why I was waiting for a Sienna instead of going with all of the suggestions he made, even quoting exact size differences between the vehicles. We talked for way longer than I was comfortable, but I was finally able to pull myself away and wander around on my own.
Once the battery was replaced I went to pick up my husband from work and he drove me back to the house. I expected him to leave for his Improv rehearsal, but he was having tummy issues and ended up missing anyway.
My kids had Small Group at church and I had invited Kim’s youngest son to have ice cream with me while his brother was at church with my kids. We sat and talked for 45 minutes. Nothing deep, but we had a nice time without the distractions of the other kids. I know he’s missing his mom and I would be more than happy to let him talk about that if it’s what he needs, but I didn’t broach the subject this time around. I figure the deeper stuff can come later, I just want him to know I’m here for him too, not just his dad and/or brother.
Today I worked, but there wasn’t much that needed to be done, so I was finished before lunch. I was relieved, as I felt a need for some down time.
Tomorrow we are going to dinner at the home of a family from church. I don’t know them very well at all. Their oldest child and my daughter have a lot in common and have spent time together both at church and at camp last summer. I only met her mother a few weeks ago. We were both recruited to help plan a Women’s Retreat. I’ve never talked to her about anything outside of a meeting for that, so we really don’t know each other. But I sent her a text after church on Sunday because her daughter had been waiting patiently to say something to my daughter as she talked with someone else. Eventually, she gave up and left. I was apologizing for that. After a bit of back and forth she invited us for dinner. When I told my daughter she was very excited. Frankly, I’m nervous. I have no idea what to expect and know I’m going to feel self-conscious. But I want to do this for my daughter. She doesn’t feel like she has friends, especially at church. I don’t know if the rest of us will become friends, but I certainly hope it can help solidify a friendship between our daughters.
The sermon series at church throughout Lent is “Dinners with Jesus” and one of the challenges they have proposed for us this season is to share a meal with others at least once a week. Well, we’re off to a rocking start! We ate at the church with the staff and Kim’s kids on Tuesday for lunch, and now we will be eating with the new family tomorrow night. Wonder who we’ll eat with next week! Hopefully it won’t be as crazy as this one has been.
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