More on Cars

A couple weeks ago, my husband was on his way to work when the ABS light came on in his truck. That was one he wasn't familiar with, so he dug the owner's manual out of the glove box to look for the proper course of action. After finding the correct page, he discovered that this was a light to take seriously. The manual instructed him to take the truck to the mechanic ASAP. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Not being one to ignore such warnings, he called to let me know about the problem, and took the truck in as soon as work was over for the day. Since it was so late in the afternoon, it was necessary to rent a car, as the mechanic was not going to have a chance to look at it until the following day. ARGH!

The next day, while my husband was at work, I got a call from the friendly service man at our local Ford dealership. He said that "a rock or something" must have been kicked up while my husband was driving, and it had nicked the brake line. Apparently, duct tape doesn't really fix everything, because the whole thing had to be replaced. The next hurdle was whether they would be able to get the part in time to avoid the delay caused by the upcoming holiday weekend (Memorial Day weekend). That would have led to four extra days of car rental. Yikes!! Fortunately, we got lucky, and the phone call that came later that afternoon was to tell us that they got the part, and the truck was ready to be picked up. WooHoo!

Since it was late in the day, we decided to pack everyone up in our Suburban, and head over to the dealership. The plan was to pick up the truck and find somewhere to stop for dinner on the way home. Once we got there, we realized that there are very few places to stop between our house and the dealership. So we figured it made sense to drive both cars back home, leave the truck there, and ride to dinner in one vehicle. Since that was the new agenda, and Grace was getting fussy in the back seat, I dropped Will off to pick up his truck, and started driving home.

Fortunately, the drive lulled Grace into a nice, peaceful sleep, and the rest of the kids managed to ride in the same vehicle without killing each other or encouraging me to join in on their games. I knew that we would arrive home before Will, so it made sense to me to have everyone stay in the car, since we would be leaving again momentarily. I sure wasn't going to wake the baby! That plan started to make less and less sense as the time grew longer and longer that we were waiting in our driveway. The potty request from the 3-year-old in the back seat was the final straw. I released my captives, and we all went in the house.

Boy was I glad we did! We had been home for almost 45 minutes by now, so I was definitely getting a bit concerned. When I walked in the kitchen, the answering machine was flashing a like a beacon of hope that I might figure out what the heck was going on with my husband. It turned out, the message was actually from the AAA operator. He said that he was just letting me know that my husband was OK, but he was waiting for a tow truck. WHAT??!!!

After my initial FREAK-OUT, it occurred to me that my kids were probably getting really hungry. Remember, we were originally planning on going out to dinner on the way home from the dealership. Fortunately we had a pan of chicken enchiladas in the fridge from the night before (Thanks Elizabeth!), so I popped them in the oven and did my best to placate the kiddos until Will got home. An HOUR later, I finally heard the tow truck outside.

I went outside to get my first glimpse at both the truck and my husband. I had no idea what had transpired between the time I dropped him off at the Ford dealership and the time he found himself in need of a tow truck. Thankfully, I saw that there was no visible damage to him or the truck, but the picture became very clear as the tow truck driver lowered the tuck from his flat-bed. You see, he had put the truck in park, but had not set the emergency brake. Now, I am no mechanic, but even I know that the truck should not roll when it is in park, even without the brake. Well, ours did. The driver quickly jumped into the driver's seat and slammed the e-brake to the floor. It came to rest at a strange angle against the curb, partially obstructing the entrance to our driveway. Things were not looking good.

To make a long story short (OK, a little bit shorter), the truck is HISTORY. With over 170,000 miles on it, we just didn't think it was worth paying $3000 to replace the rear end that had "grenaded", to quote the friendly service man at Ford. The hunt for a new car was on.

I am pleased to say that our search was successful! We will miss having a pick-up truck, but all 7 of us fit in the new car and the gas mileage is. So. Much Better!! We will also be able to tow it (on a dolly, Dad) with our motorhome when we go on vacations. So, other than the unexpected car payment (BUMMER), we really like the new car!