I Just Thought Friday Would Be Better

I had hope.

Caedmon and I were going to playgroup, so we took Husband to work since we only have one working car. When I went to get in the car, I realized the tire I had fixed on Monday was nearly flat. Not good. So since I was still in my pajamas (I’m just being honest here), I dropped Husband off at work, found a place to air up the tire where my old student ministry t-shirt and sweatpants wouldn’t be noticed, and went back home to get dressed.

I was not happy. My plan had been to have a relaxing morning, a leisurely trip to playgroup where Caedmon would play happily with other children (never once taking someone else’s toy or acting like a maniac), and I would get to have real conversations with multiple people who are the same height as me (or taller).

So, you know, a completely unattainable dream.

We got dressed and went back to the tire place. The guys pulled our car in and started working on the tire. And of course, Slowest Mechanic In The Universe was our guy again. I knew it was going to take him a half hour, so we would’ve had plenty of time for him to leisurely do his thing and be at playgroup on time.

And then they told me that there was a hole in the sidewall of the tire. And that my tires needed to be replaced anyway (which I already knew but wanted to wait a month or so, because, you know, we just dropped a lot of cash on Husband’s teeth).

So I called Husband. We agreed that since this is our only working vehicle, we really should just suck it up and buy the tires and be done with it. And then I found out it would take 45 minutes to mount the new tires. We were going to be late to playgroup, if we made it at all.

Because if average was 45 minutes, it would take Slowest Mechanic In The Universe at least an hour. I called Jennifer to let her know what was going on and asked her to give my apologies. Really it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I hated to be so late, especially since we’d invited a new friend to playgroup.

It was about that time that Caedmon announced his need to pee. Of course. We got the key and headed for the bathrooms – which were outside, down the side of the building. We could barely fit in the bathroom together and close the door. And that’s when I discovered that when Caedmon so willingly dressed himself that morning, he not only put his t-shirt on backwards (which I wasn’t in the mood to care about), he also neglected to put underwear on. My son was going commando.

At least he wasn’t doing lunges.

After the potty trip, I peeked out into the shop and discovered that someone else was helping Slowest Mechanic In The Universe mount our tires. I was relieved. We were out of there 40 minutes after the need for new tires was announced, several hundred dollars lighter.

And then? We headed to playgroup. I’d never been to Lisa’s house and had forgotten to get directions, so I was driving aimlessly around her area when I called Husband and asked him to map it on his phone. I found it just a few minutes later, and arrived in time to talk to our new friend for about 10 minutes before she had to leave. We were there a total of about 45 minutes before it was time to head home. 45 minutes of Caedmon playing with someone else’s toys and talking to people as tall (or taller) than me was better than none.

Then to top it off, the termite inspection guy came later that afternoon. Let’s spend another hundred bucks, shall we?

I think this was the single most expensive week of my life aside from purchasing a house. You know, real estate. To live in.

Oh, and it gets better.

I had borrowed Mom & Dad’s Shop Vac to work on the carpet stains in Caedmon’s bedroom. So Saturday after lunch I got everything all ready and went to work. And the stain? It was coming up. I was ecstatic.

And then I found out the vacuum cleaner was malfunctioning, spitting all the nasty water back out onto the carpet.

Deep breaths.

Thankfully, Mimi and Papa were at home and had a Shop Vac I could borrow. So Caedmon and I ran over to their house to get it. When we got home, I cleaned the new stain along with part of the old one. I didn’t have time to finish because Caedmon had to get down for a nap so we could go to a wedding.

Sunday was much better in the way that nothing fell apart or cost more than $10.

And today? We’re juggling the one car that works and I’m getting more soft foods for Husband/Marlon Brando at the grocery store and maybe cleaning the other carpet stain. So glamorous. But so good.