Yesterday morning, upon getting into our car, my spidey senses started tingling.
The clock displayed the wrong time and all our preset radio stations had disappeared.
Something was up.
Something car related.
Out of my domain of responsibility.
What that something was fell out of my purview of understanding.
During our hectic morning drive, the drive-that-is-always-more-hectic-on-Tuesday/Thursday-because-Keith-has-an-8.30-class, the battery light came on.
Wonky time, country radio stations and now the battery.
Definitely something up.
I sat in the front seat, kids in the back, Stephen in his pjs cause he never learns, fiercely hoping that whatever was wrong, I arrived at my destination before it ocurred.
Dropped Em off, no problem.
Keith and I unload the university.
All good.
And Stephen made it home and then to the dealer without any problems.
But. . .
$520.00 and a 24 hour hold over.
Something to do with an alternator.
Whatever that is.
And unlike most of the challenges that come my way, I can't do anything about this one.
Except wait.
Not one of my strongest attributes.
The entire day I was out of sorts.
Irritated.
Discombobulated.
Aggravated.
Chafing.
How come?
Dependency.
Inability to function properly because the car is unavailable.
Recognition of such a weakness threw me into a state of anomie.
Normlessness.
Acceptance of this weakness was something altogether different.
I pondered how I, who didn't even have a car until I was 32, had managed in 11 short years to annihilate my former walking self.
Became soft.
Vulnerable.
Clinging to the environment-and-bank-account depleting mechanical mainstay overtaking my existence.
How disappointed I was in myself.
How pissed off I am at the inconvenience.
Does the car not know how much I had to do to yesterday?
Today?
The accumulation of demands, the stockpile of responsibilities, the number of needs I have in one single day, let alone two!
Keith working at 5.00 pm.
Emily working at 6.00 pm.
Me at the university.
Em with no work uniform.
School in the morning.
Em working Friday evening.
Community Kitchen volunteerting.
Could I be any more inconvenienced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Annoyed?
Aggravated?
Some cab company is gonna be very, very happy!
I'm just thankful we have milk.
And dog food.
We can survive on both if necessary.
Keith and Em were most accomodating when they were informed of our plight.
Keith actually walked home to collect Em's uniform and cell phone.
Because of course, on the one day I actually need to reach her, she has conveniently left her cell phone at home.
On her bed.
Who she is calling in the wee hours of the morning, when everyone else is happily visiting the Land of Nod, I do not want to know.
Maybe it Reilley.
He sleeps at the top of her bed, resting royally on a specially made grouping of pillows and blankets.
Perhaps in the dead of night, he is using his additional paw to dial his faculty of feline females, arranging daytime rendezvous to fill his day in our absence.
Nothing would surprise me when it comes to Reilley.
Meredyth, on the other hand, calls us last evening, temporarily forgetting, I have to believe, that we were temporarily grounded.
Carless.
Without a vehicle.
As soon as I answered the phone, she says,
"Shit."
Well hello to you to Mer!
"I forgot you didn't have the car. I wanted a drive. It's raining and I have no bus tickets left."
She calls back an hour later.
Around 9 pm.
Perhaps she thought that because we were so special, the mechanic stayed overtime JUST to repair our car, meaning we were in possession of our vehicle and were able and willling to pick her up.
No.
Such.
Luck.
She wanted to know if I would put money in her account so she could take a cab.
I love this child.
I really do.
But this was one of those times when, if I could have reached through the phone to strangle her, I may have.
Oh Mer, my dear, I am so sorry that we have inconvenienced you with the mechanical and electrical failure of our vehicle to the point where you may have to walk home in the rain, while we sit here $600.00 in the hole and are unable to come and get you.
But,
Snaps for trying!
This is not the first time an alternator in a car I have owned has decided that enough is enough and quit on me.
Our 2001 Sonata, my car before Stephen came into my life, was doing acting very oddly one morning when I was driving Keith to school. Power shorting, actually fading in and out, Keith, aka Captain Cautious, panicking in the front.
He practically shot out of the car when we finally arrived at the high school parking lot.
Off to the dealer I went, because I knew that whatever was wrong, it couldn't wait.
And I was really pissed off because I had just had the car in for a repair the frickin' day before.
This, along with a couple of other things, effectively ended my association with Hyundai.
The alternator, the flickering lights, these were annoying.
But I had a much bigger problem.
She was in the backseat.
Came along for the drive.
Tikka.
So in addition to having to sit at the dealer's, unexpectedly, all morning, I had to do this with my 80 pound Belgian Shepherd.
You can imagine how much fun *that* morning was.
A dog in the dealer.
Me in clothes not necessarily intended for public consumption.
Stephen at home worried because my little knowledge of cars could have resulted in the replacement of just about anything.
Whether we needed it or not.
So now, I am on the verge of completing my morning ablutions, Em has been told that under no circumstances can she be late this morning because the cab driver and my wallet are out of patience and Keith has to determine if he wants to come with us. . .
. . .or walk in the 60 mm of rain we will receive today.
Because when it rains on MY parade. . . .
It.
Rains.
Hard.
Title Lyric: Rain on My Parade by Fanny Brice
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