Blow Out

Clearly I'm not talking about a visit to the salon here people.

So, the above incident happened to me on the way home from work yesterday.  But, before I get into it all I have to give you some background information.  Just listen.  Trust me, it will come in handy later.  Oh, and this may be a long story.  Hopefully it's interesting, but long.  You might want to grab a snack.

Over Spring Break we had a little incident with the Trail Blazer's liftgate.  See, we were getting ready to head out to the drive-in.  I was getting our chairs and putting them in the trunk.  The trunk was open.  The chairs are at the front of the garage so Amy decided to back the Trail Blazer out a bit to help me get to them.  Yep, you guessed it.  The liftgate got caught on the garage door.  Luckily no major damage was caused to either the car or the door.  However, the handle to the liftgate was damaged and we cannot get it open.  I made the decision to wait on getting it fixed.  I thought, "Eh, we can just open the glass top and get in that way.  It can wait.  We'll save up the money and do it later."  Famous last words.

Ok, so you're filled in now.  On with the original story.

So, I'm driving home.  I'd just finished a phone call when I heard a funny noise from the rear of the car.  Also, it wouldn't accelerate as well.  No smoke.  No flashing lights.  The only thing was the tire pressure light had come on.  Crap.  I pulled over onto the shoulder.  Now, keep in mind I'm on the HOV of a major freeway here.  On the far right side, where the shoulder is.  With all 3 kids.  I glance out my window at the cars flying by me.  I'll be honest dear readers, it took me a minute to get the courage up to open the door and step out.  I immediately saw the driver's rear tire.  Crap.  Back into the car I go.  The boys know something is up.  I try calling Amy but she's not answering.  We're supposed to eat dinner at some friends' house and we're meeting there.  Crap.  Not going to make that.  Amy answers as a huge Toll Road Authority tow truck pulls up.  Awesome.  I get the kids out of the car and into this giant truck.  The boys are clearly excited.  Stella doesn't mind too much either.  Into the tow truck we go.

Stella and I riding in the front of the tow truck.

The boys enjoying their ride!

Now things get funny from here.  The air conditioning in the tow truck just went out and he was on the way to the shop when he stopped to help us.  Shortly into our ride the "Check Engine" light comes on.  I can't make this stuff up folks.  Since we have a full-size spare we decide to have the guy take us to the park & ride to change it.  Now, think back  to the incident from Spring Break.  Remember?  Good, here we go.

So we get to the park & ride only to find out that the access point to lower the spare down from underneath can only be reached when the liftgate is opened.  Ahhhh, now you see the purpose for the story within a story?!  Crap. 

Unloading

 

Now what.  Well, as it turns out, it is against his policy to take me to a second location so I'm stuck here.  Crap.  Troubleshooting via the phone with Amy begins.  Meanwhile the boys are collecting acorns from trees and running around while I hold Stella on my hip.  Amy has the brilliant plan to just remove the tire, take it to get replaced, and bring it back to put it on.  Great!  Saves us the wait time on another tow truck and the cost of one too!  

We begin the process when who should drive up?  Mr. Toll Road Authority Tow Truck Driver Man (note: not his real name).  He came back to check up on us.  Yes dear readers, there are still people like that out there.  Turns out though, he informs us that our jack (the one that came with the car) is crap.  And he's seen people lose a leg using one.  Crap.  So he uses his giant fancy one to get the car up and his drill-like tool to get the nuts off quickly.  We put it on my crappy jack and he leaves.  

The kids get loaded into Amy's van.  The destroyed tire gets loaded into Amy's van.  A tired me gets loaded into Amy's van.  Off to Sam's (literally across the street) we head.  I'll speed up the story here.  They get the new tire mounted and balanced.  We head back to the Trail Blazer and luckily it's still there and our crappy jack hasn't collapsed.  The tire is put on and we make a quick stop back at Sam's to get the nuts tightened before heading home.  Finally.  

Keep in mind that it is now 7:00 pm.  The tire blew at about 4:45.  We had one extra diaper.  No bottles.  No snacks, save for a few graham crackers that Stella ate.  However, God's grace was shining down on us as all 3, yes all 3, kids were very patient and well-behaved throughout this whole ordeal.  Sure there were moments here and there, but overall it was amazing.  The boys ask to eat out at La Finca, one of their favorite restaurants just across the street from our neighborhood.  Amy and I figure that it is a good reward for their cooperation but Stella is well past her bedtime and we didn't want to stretch our luck with her so Amy stayed home with her to give her a bottle and put her to bed while the boys and I went out to dinner.  It was nice to have some boy time, but the 3 of us were so exhausted that we didn't talk much.  We quickly ate and got Amy's order to-go.

Dinner.  Finally.

So, there you have it.  Just another little adventure here in Drosche Land.  Never a dull moment.  Lucky for us, we have once again begun to follow Dave Ramsey's plan.  Thanks to an emergency fund, we can handle this little mishap and it is no longer a burden for us.  Yes dear readers, we are back on track to financial freedom, but that's a topic for another post.  The events of yesterday have just cemented in us the need for financial freedom and have motivated us more to keep it up!  So keep it up we will!

All is well, re-inflated, in Drosche Land.