Car Troubles Part 1

I all began 2 Fridays ago. The kids had just returned to school from winter break, my husband had just left for a trip and we were getting into the routine of things. That Friday, I decided I was going to go to the gym before picking up my daughter from gymnastics. I left an hour earlier than usual.

Traffic on the interstate was stupid. I was in stop-and-go traffic in the far right hand lane. The car in front of me slowed down, so I slowed down. I looked in my mirror and saw a pair of headlights coming at me full speed ahead.

There was no where for me to go and not enough time to get out of the way even if I wanted to. I knew that this car was going to hit me. In that moment of acceptance, I had a peace come over me. My first thought was to relax. I read somewhere that drunk drivers usually survive bad wrecks because they are relaxed. In the seconds that the car was coming at me, I relaxed and went completely limp. He hit me HARD. I flailed forward. Then, it was quiet. I turned my head back and forth. I looked around. I wasn't in a ditch. I was okay.

I was scared to get out of the car and see the back. I was sure it would be all f*cked up. Surprisingly, it was only scratched up and the back light was torn out. It FELT worse than it actually was. The guy was very apologetic about it.

I called my dad and asked him to pick up my daughter. "I was heading to the Chinese Buffet. I'll just take her with me." That was taken care of. We called the cops and waited. Weirdly, the guy is a few years older than me, his wife stays home and his kids are also in 5th and 7th grade and so we chatted about middle school hell. The cop came, wrote up his report and it was done. I was feeling so happy to be alive.

I wound up picking up my oldest and meeting my dad and youngest at the Chinese Buffet. My brother showed up as well as a family friend. It actually turned out to be a nice evening. I think GOD was trying to tell me that I don't need to be going to the gym.

The next day, I woke up and felt fine. My right shin was sore but I felt surprisingly good. I expected to have whiplash the way I was thrown around. That day it was frigid and we stayed inside and were lazy. That night was the night that we watched "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead."

After the movie, I had some friends over. I built a fire and we just hung out and chatted about boring grown-up shit like insurance and carpets. My oldest came downstairs around 10 and asked to sleep over a friend's house.

The friend lives right around the corner, so I told my friends to stay and that I'd be right back. It was FREEZING but because it was so close, I didn't even put my jacket on. I grabbed my purse and went out the door to drop her off in my pajamas and slippers. When I started the car, it jerked a little bit and sounded funny. I assumed it was because of the big drop in the temperature. I drove there fine, dropped her off and headed right back.

I slowed down at a stop sign on my way home and the Jeep just shut off. The battery light flashed for a minute and the display on the dashboard said, "Put the Vehicle in Park." Then it just shut off in the middle of the road.

I put the car in Park and then tried to start it. It wouldn't turn over. I tried again. Still wouldn't turn over. Tried again and it still would not turn over. Not a problem, I'll just call my friend who is sitting at my house. I reach into my purse. No phone. I left my phone at home like an idiot.

                             
I sat in the dark, in the Jeep in the middle of the road, shivering and pondering what to do next. Finally, I thought You are going to start, mother f**ker. I turned the ignition HARD and pressed on the gas and to my surprise, the car sputtered to life. Success!

It jerked but it worked. As I approached the next stop sign, I slowed down and the car hesitated like it was going to stall out again. I just couldn't slow down. I drove through 3 stop signs on my way home and just hoped there were no cops around. I pulled into my drive way and breathed a sigh of relief. I'd made it.

This was just too much car excitement for me. I'll just drive the Kia and I'll call the Jeep dealership on Monday. I'm sure it will be painless....

I called the dealership first thing on Monday and had them schedule my service for Wednesday morning. That is the day that I became an Uber driver.....