A clutch situation

The corn maze was so awesome that I'm going back tomorrow with the kids, whoever can come. I'm a-taking the camera. I'll hopefully post some pics this weekend.

So this evening, I got home from the field trip all excited to see my kids because I hadn't seen them all day. (I was also curious to see the progress on the driveway replacement--which it looks like is all finished. New driveway! No cracks! No potholes! No dropoffs! No crumbling! Yay!) But I guess the excitement of parental return was only one-sided because when I got home, Matt was gone, and Other Jim was about to leave, as was Paul. And with Paul's leaving, Jim was too because he was driving Paul and a bunch of friends (remember this fact. It is key in the following story). So the four boys/men bailed on me. My poor empty arms.

Hayley and I heated up the sad little dinner for two that had been planned for six and no sooner had we sat down and opened our mouths when the phone rang. It was Hayley's friend, inviting her to go bowling.

Sigh. My empty arms just got emptier.

I decided to sacrifice time with my remaining child so she could do what she wanted. The friend said that Hayley needed a ride to the house, but they would bring her home. OK. Hayley and I quickly finished our dinner, I grabbed my purse and we went outside to get in the van.

Except the van wasn't there.

Oh crap.

I forgot. Jim had taken the van so that he could give rides to more than one teenager. All that was left (because OJ was gone) was Little Red Rider. You remember her, don't you? She and I are not on speaking terms. I don't touch her and she doesn't run over me.

What to do?

Hayley went back in the house to call her friend because she knows I don't drive the truck (in fact last January when SOMEONE--namely the driver of Little Red--decided to have a fainting fit and the paramedics needed the truck moved, I refused and one of the EMTs had to do it).

But I figured it was time to face up to the little she-devil. I rummaged around for the spare key, called Jim and told him what the deal was (and also to ask if one is supposed to engage the clutch when one starts the truck), and took several deep calming breaths.

And everything went just fine. Hayley got where she needed to go and I didn't stall the truck once (except when I tried to reverse the car out of the friend's driveway, but that doesn't count, does it?).

There is one teensy little problem though. I can't get the spare key out of the ignition. Sigh. Little Red still harbors some unfathomable resentment toward me.

Comments

Jen said…
I knew you could do it. Just like riding a bike. And stalling in reverse doesn't count since reverse in any car is a maneuver which takes a lifetime to master (at least that's true for me). Glad you made it back unscathed.