Glad this Mondays outta the way

Well, I shoulda figured with Isaak leaving for a teeny tiny TDY for the first time in who knows how stinkin' long....that something, was bound, to go wrong.

Little did I know that as I was running out the door at 8:45 this morning to take Sydaleigh to school, in the clothes I wore to bed, with my house looking like a land fill, and smellin' like one too...that that something would go wrong.

I stand at the front door of the house on our way out and press the 'open' button for the sliding door on my van on the keys, and the door doesn't open. I stand there and push it again, waiting for the side door to glide its way on back...and again, nothing. 

Hmmm, well, I don't know. Maybe the keys forgot how to work! It's Monday, I forget how to work on Mondays. I didn't want to get outta bed this morning. I was tired from last night, and every other night since Isaak left because for some reason I don't go to bed till late in the night when he's gone.

So yeah, maybe my keys were tired. Maybe they just needed me to shake em a bit.

Hmm, no, not responding to my shaking.

Maybe they need me to scream at them, that'll wake em up.

Nope, still not doin' what I want.

Maybe if I shake and scream and push down on the 'open' button really hard all at the same time, THEN, they will open the sliding door.

Well dang. What is up with my keys?! They didn't respond to any use of force I assaulted on them.

Guess I'm gonna have to walk over to the car, and open the door myself!

"Lousy keys, just do what you're told already! Don't you know it's Monday!"

So, I walk over to my van, and I pull on the door handle all.by.myself. *gasp* And wouldn't ya know, the door didn't glide back. It barely opened at all. I think maybe my keys weren't the problem. Good thing cause I was ready to chuck them in the street. (I was tired. Okay?! I'm not normally this neurotic.)

After further investigation, nothing is moving, lighting up, or making noise in any way to prove that my van is working.

Well, dang.

At this point my keys not working would have been the lesser of the problem. Now my whole van has called it quits!

And Isaak is gone. And it's 9am in base housing so all my male neighbors are gone. And the only one who wasn't gone got home an hour ago because he's working mids. No way I'm knockin' on his door.

Well, dang. Quite the predicament. I leave a very pathetic message on Isaak's phone making it quite evident that I am helpless and have no idea how to fix the car, that is mysteriously not starting, and I can't even find the latch on the hood, to pretend like I would even know what I'm looking at.

What's a girl to do with no husband around to help?

Call a friend to come over and help me. Love it how military wives band together. As soon as I explained my predicament, I get a, "yup, no surprise something went wrong when he left, something always does!" And then in the afternoon while I skyped I heard, "yup,no surprise something went wrong when he left, something always does. Better stop while it's just the car, don't run the sink, flush the toilet, or turn on the furnace, cause they're liable to break too!"

Evidently in the book for military spouses it states that all things mechanical should be off limits when your spouse leaves, because it will break. :~)

So Beccy hurries over and we take Sydaleigh to school. I get through to Isaak who is trying to instruct me on how to jump start the car, because it's pretty clear that the battery pooped out.

I make a mental list of everything he's telling me, not wanting to electrocute myself to smithereens.

And we head over to get Beccy's jumper cables, because ours are in Isaak's car which is at the clinic. Of course.

We can totally do this!! Just because we are a bunch of chics who've never jump started a car before doesn't mean we can't. Yeah, that's right, we GOT this.

Just making sure I go through my mental list of what to do so I don't get electrocuted. 

"Okay, remember the list.... red, black, red, black. Red on positive. Black on negative. Don't touch the cables together or they will spark. Wait, spark or blow something up? In my mind he said blow something up. Better let Beccy attach the ones on her car first, just in case. :~) Whew, no sparks or explosions, I think it's safe for me to attach the second two now."

We totally did it! We jumped started the cars with no husbands! We are so awesome.

Oh, except that we didn't. Shoot. The battery was so beyond dead it wouldn't even charge.

After all that work...we risked our lives for nothing!

Now we had to call for back up. Rats, I was totally hoping to revel in my girl power. But I was not about to yank that battery out on my own, that had death written all over it. Even with the car off, it would find a way to electrocute me. :)

So, the morning and afternoon wears on and by dinner time we're able to get it fixed. Thank you Jesus! Beccy's husband very graciously went to the store and replaced the battery for us, and then installed it.  And though and behold, once the new battery was in and the car was all lit up and running again, I not so surprisingly turn around to see the little light next to Sydaleigh's seat turned on. That little light she turned on on her way home from school on Friday, that stayed on all Saturday and Sunday because we didn't go anywhere all weekend. That little light, completely sucked the life from our car.

The lesson here-
don't let the kids turn on the lights in the car,
don't even let the kids touch the lights in the car even if they say they're not turning them on,
don't be surprised when the car stops running or the toilet explodes while Isaak is away, because apparently it's all triggered to malfunction then.
and thank the Lord profusely for great friends who will give up their mornings and evenings to help you. (thank you Beccy-you're a rockstar!)