Tuesday, August 28, 2007

A Silver Lining

Well. Let's see.

When it rains it pours. Literally.

The camping trip started off strong...even though on the ride up I had an eerie premonition about car trouble and when I went to get the change out of my cup holder at the toll booth and it was scary hot...I relayed the info to my husband and shrugged it off.

Setting up the tent in ninety degree heat with two kids? Not too bad. Ice cold pool with two wicked awesome waterslides? Perfect. Laughing so hard around the campfire that you fear you may never breath again? All good too. Leaving the tent, foam mattress in tow, to sleep in the back of the 4runner in the middle of the night because you saw a mini-tarantula that escaped from under the flipflop of death? Totally do-able. Especially with a fan. Tubing down a river with great friends, THE BEST TUBE and a few icy mixed drinks? Perfection.

Hearing a distant rumble of thunder and rolling up the windows of the car on a whim on the way to the bathroom? Smart. Staying in the bathroom during what seemed to be just a passing thunderstorm? Not such a bad decision. Seeing your friend, soaking wet and a bit stressed come walking through the door? Kinda funny. Driving up to the camp store with her to find out that the passing twenty minute thunderstorm was actually a mini-monsoon/cyclone that ripped our tarp from its grommets, collapsed our tent with rainwater, blew a tree down next to our site, blew numerous trees down all over the campground (crushing some trailers in the process) and knocked out power to that entire side of town? Not so great.

And so, with that we packed up our wet things and we all came home. I was planning on staying until Tuesday so it was doubly depressing but y'know...whatever.

The nagging feeling about the car revisited me on the ride home. I sort of knew I couldn't ignore it but figured I'd be able to wait until the kids were back in school before I had to deal with it. I made some tentative plans to go to the beach today. The same beach I was planning to go to this very same week last year. If you can't remember, check the link...this can wait. And why can it wait? Because it IS THE SAME FUCKING STORY.

Well, not exactly the same. There were no bike accidents, no refusal to toast and no loud clunk and I didn't even get as far this time as I did last year. Plus, y'know my car stays in gear (unlike last year when it wouldn't stay in park and they had to ratchet it down to the tow truck). But still. The week before school starts, car trouble, on the way to the beach for a last day of sun and sea glass.

Again.

Cripes.

So, I'm trying to figure the bright side of all of this...more down time at home with the kids? The chance to drive up to Maine with the kids crammed into the back of my husband's extra cab? An excuse not to go shopping for school shoes? The light headed feeling I get knowing that a big car repair bill and the last hockey payment will fall in the same week?

5 comments:

blackbird said...

But MAYBE, just maybe, some planet will pass between us and the sun and things won't feel so miserable.

Check back with me, though, because I'm not counting on it.

Caterina said...

I hear ya on the car issues. My clunker is so near death. G'luck!

Fairly Odd Mother said...

I'm SO glad you had fun on your camping trip up until the s**t hit the fan! Sucks about the car and not being able to get to the beach. IF ONLY you lived somewhere near the water. . .

Mig said...

Ugh! If you need a ride, I am here for you. :-) (or perhaps a visit instead, to keep the kids sane.

Here's a Bright Side, a way out of overnighter in Maine. I think that is doable. (just rip the wires off the distributor cap of your mans truck. HA)

Unknown said...

That is hilarious. I am glad that I am not with you. But I have so many wonderful memories of exactly what your talkin' about! I miss it...tks for the memories.