What a Day

I think I already mentioned this, but Chiggie is out of school on holiday this whole week. So when my Mom, in casual conversation mentioned she had a dentist appointment in a neighboring bigger town, I suggested we tag along and make a day of it. We got up early and headed out. Her appointment was at 11:30 so the girls and I, all 6 of them, just chilled in the car. The kids were great. They listened to music, looked at books, and played games together with no problems. At one point we unloaded and went in for a quick bathroom break, but other than that we just stayed in the car.



A little over an hour later I saw my Mom walking out. The girls cheered. We had bribed the good behaviour out of them with the promise of a buffet lunch and a trip to the mall. My Mom got in the car, her face swollen and numb from the appointment, but excited to move on with the rest of the day. The girls got back settled into their seats and I put the keys into the ignition. I turned the key and click, click, click. Click, click, click. The all to familiar sound of another dead battery. Crap. I checked the back of the car for my cables and they weren't there. It seems they were on the porch. Not much use to me there.



I went in to the dental office to plead for help and they were actually rude. The receptionist said she didn't have any cables either and maybe I should just call AAA. I asked everyone in the lobby and no one could help. So here we were a good hour from home, not personally knowing anyone in this town, just needed a battery charge. We sat there for a good 10 minutes just trying to think of what to do. I called the King, but he can't have his cell phone on at work and of course I didn't have any other contact numbers on so I just left a message. I think it said something like "the battery is dead, just need a jump, maybe I'll use my cables, oh yeah they're on the porch," click.



Finally my Mom, determined to continue on about our day, set off on foot for help. She walked until we couldn't see her anymore. We waited what seemed like forever, but was more like 20 minutes, and I could see her in the distance walking towards us. She was smiling and carrying jumper cables. Someone at a nearby medical facility had taken pity on us and let her borrow them. One more piece of the puzzle. Now we just had to find someone willing to give us the jump and we could be on our way.

I went back into the office to again plead for help. The receptionist, who had now heard my pleas on 3 separate occasions welcomed me and asked how I could be helped like she'd never seen me before. I again explained our situation and she said if anyone could help she would send them out. A few minutes later the Dentist came out himself and hooked up the cables. Not just any dentist either. He reminded me of Robin Williams' character in Nine Months if that helps. He was different we'll just leave it at that.

Long story, brought to a close, the jump worked. We let the car run a few minutes, drove to the medical center and returned the cables, and took the kids to the buffet. We didn't have any more problems the rest of the day. We even kept to our plan and hit the mall. The girls go Christmas earrings and we bought a few more outfits for the baby. It was fun seeing the mall all festively decorated and the girls saw Santa from a distance. We'll save the actual visit until after Thanksgiving when the King can be there.

What a day. The best part is my Mom and I spent most of it laughing. I didn't get nearly as stressed out as I would have in the past. I'm finally seeing that it is just not worth it. We made the best of a bad situation and persistance paid off.