Our week

It has been a crazy last few days. On Wednesday night, I went to the gym with Neil. R had to be in some meetings and could not come with us. I worked out until a little past 7:30 pm and then got out and started driving. I was waiting at a signal to take a left turn in to the State Highway and suddenly, my car sputtered to a stop. I turned my hazard lights on and thankfully there were two turning lanes.

I called R and he said he will come and pick me up in the van and help us get home. He also asked me to flag someone down and have the car moved to the side. I was shy, but a little bit later, I summed up some courage and flagged down a van which was driven by two guys. They helped me get the car to the side and tried to jumpstart the car. They tried many times, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, what was R doing? Well, as he said he was on the way and while he was on the way, he got a flat tire. And he said he could not find a spare in the van. So my car was failing to start, R was stuck with a flat tire, neil was screaming his head off because he was hungry, tired, thirsty, and sleepy. I had finished the bottle of water that I had, his bottle was empty too, he had even finished the snacks I had for him. I called AAA and the guys who helped me said that they would wait until AAA comes as it was getting to be dark. I knew they would take a while and I told them bravely that we would be okay. They refused to leave and so wait they did.

When I called AAA, I also asked for police protection as I was parked in the side of a building which was not lit and I didn't want the poor guys to wait for ever. So after a while, an officer came and the guys left. I was so touched that they did that. I guess there is not much more sympathy evoking than a young woman with a small child stuck with a non-working car in the middle of the road. After a while, the AAA guy came, and try as he might, he could not get the car to work. Poor guy did everything he could and finally called for a tow truck. The officer left when the AAA tech came. At least one good thing happened because he came. He told me where to find the spare for our Sienna. Turns out it is in a very inconvenient and non-intuitive place. Anyway, by the time the AAA guy gave up, and the tow truck called, R changed the tire and was on his way.

The tech had handed us some water, and at least we weren't thirsty anymore. I just drank very little as I had no idea when we were getting home and it was not like I had a diaper to pee on. So while he was calling the tow truck, I sang the entire album of kids' songs that Neil likes and he went to sleep in my arms. Finally, both R and the tow truck came within a few minutes of each other. The tech stayed until R came and we talked about how our vehicles plotted against us. We do not know if the car or the van started the conversation that led to a mutiny which ended up with all three of us stranded outside.

The tow truck came, and the car was dropped at a mechanics and the next day I had it repaired. Turns out, the computer which controls the car crashed and there is a recall on that. So, if you own a 2006 Toyota Corolla, and this happens to you, you know what to do. Since there was a recall, the parts and labor, which came to a $1000was done for free. The car still needed a lot of other work, and we will hopefully get it back tomorrow. I also had to get the van tires fixed and I was out all day Thursday taking care of both.

Today was resodding day. We fixed the front lawn and I also planted some flowers and bushes in the front. I do not have a before picture, but it was in pretty sorry shape, that much I can tell you. Maybe I will have some after pictures soon. I think it looks lovely. I planted some azaleas, and geraniums. I have to admit that I am using the term I very loosely here. I just bought them and had someone plant it. He was resodding the lawn as well and I helped out for 4 hours. My feet are killing me, but boy, I feel good.

So that is the highlight from our week. Also, I have to note that Neil ran a mile on Friday. It was quite an achievement. He fell down so many times and bloodied his knee, but he just got up and ran again. Not one tear. Such a spunky child. (Is he even mine?) I saw that when he came home, there was a bunch of grazed skin, and one was big even. Also, the only time he cried during the car debacle was when he was strapped in the backseat. I saw that he was sweating bullets. Once I took him out and let him run around, he was fine. He is a trooper.

Here is a picture of him from Easter.