Trip to Library turned car emergency.

Or not. Bear with me. Let me try to make a long story short.

I drive a car that has seen its better days. It probably should have been dead over a decade ago, but it was relatively babied by the mother of one of Jon's co-workers.

I should mention that I have driven it for 13 months and never had an issue. Before today.

We have dvd's due back to the library in the town that is 5 miles from me. So I am just going to take the two younger boys to town with me to return the dvds; should be back in no time. Matthew shouldn't even notice that we've been gone. He's still trying to sleep off/catch up from 3 days of being at Grandmas.

The car stalls when I back it out of the driveway, but no worries, it did that earlier this week and started just fine after.

We make it the five miles into town and I hear a loud "POP"; all of the sudden, I'm without steering and most of the braking power and every light is on on the dashboard!

So in my quick but panicked thinking, I pull into the nearest driveway, which happens to be A&W, and try to keep from hitting the lovely landscaping retaining wall in the parking lot.

Thank goodness I had my cell phone; I have a terrible habit of leaving without it.

Now, not knowing a soul in that town I have to call Jon; who of course, is in Appleton, working.

Here's our conversation:

Jon : {upon picking up his cell} "Dear, can I call you back?" usually I say, "Sure!"

Me:{starting to panic and talking really fast} "Um, no; I have no steering and no brakes and I'm in the parking lot of A&W in ____, and I have both boys and ........"

Jon: {too calmly} "Okay, don't panic; I'll leave as soon as I can."

Okay, it's pretty much too late for the "don't panic" thing.

I tell the boys to roll down the windows and hang tight; it'll be about 40 minutes for Jon to get to us.

They entertain themselves with a colored pencil of Caleb's that they find; and then they just start using their extremities as swords. Boys.

Jon arrives and I have to tell you that I can't really think of a time in recent days when I was happier to see him.

He looks under the hood and asked me to start the car. Of course, it started right away. Duh. So I'm pretty much feeling like the world's biggest idiot for having him come all the way from Appleton for a stall. When I say as much to him, all he does is shake his head. Nice.

We leave my car at A&W and get in his car to go to the library and return the dvds. Then back to get my car; and he decides that he will drive it and I will follow him in the Honda.

No argument from me.

And of course, Murphy's Law never fails to occur at moments like this; all the way back from town to home the car doesn't stall once.

Figures. Made me want to kick him.

In an interesting twist of irony, our mechanic lives where we were stranded. But he works in Appleton. Ha.ha. Jon's just gonna have Roger look at the car once we get home from Michigan since it is now safely in its own driveway.

Nothing like a little car trouble to make a trip to the library last forever.