Silly Mom Thoughts

Our Snowpocalypse (as a friend jokingly referred to the winter storm here in the Northwest) reached a brief calm this morning. For the last 3 days we have seen several inches of snow, along with temperatures in the single digits and slippery icy roads. I wouldn’t know first hand about the roads, however, except for what I have seen on TV, since we have stayed warm and cozy in our little home. But, this morning, I needed to get out for a couple of reasons. First, I had a manuscript to mail off for a short story contest and it had to be postmarked by today. Second, Turk’s brother and his family are coming to visit and we told them they could use our infant car-seat for their new baby girl, so we were going to attempt an hour drive to his parent’s house to drop it off.

At 9:30 this morning, we loaded up the car with the kids, blankets, and some extra clothes (just in case) and carefully made our way to the post office. Contest entry mailed: Check. But, we realized that we had forgotten our cell phones and with the nasty storm we’re supposed to be getting this afternoon, I didn’t feel comfortable driving without some kind of emergency contact. So, we drove for 15 minutes back to our house. Cell Phones: Check.

Finally, we were back on the road heading south. The freeway was clear for the most part, though patches of ice lined the sides of the roads. I kept my speed reasonable and followed at a safe distance since getting into an accident isn’t exactly my idea of a fun way to spend a Saturday.  We were barely 20 miles out of our town when suddenly there were endless sheets of ice covering the roadways. Fortunately, I was still keeping a safe speed and distance, but that wasn’t the case for two accidents we saw within a mile of eachother. It soon occurred to me that the roads were likely going to get worse, and this whole car seat thing really wasn’t worth the potential danger, so I chickened out and got off the freeway to turn back toward home. Car seat drop off: No Check.

Before we went home, we decided to stop at the store for some groceries, last minute Christmas presents, etc. That place was packed! Snowpocalypse? No joke. You’d think everyone was convinced that they were going to be stuck in their homes for a month with all of the frenzied shopping going on. It was so bad, Turk had to stay with the kids and the cart in a the deserted laundry aisle while I grabbed what we needed and ran back to him. We stood in line for eternity before we checked out. Whew.

At this point, we were ready to leave the store. Careful not to spin my tires and get stuck, I started backing out of the parking spot. The car moved a few inches and then got stuck. So, I moved forward a bit. Stuck again, I turned my wheel, reverse, drive, reverse, drive. No luck. Turk got out and tried pushing. No luck.

I looked down and saw that my parking break was on. Woops!

I eased my car carefully out of the spot and back home, avoiding idiots who drove too fast, didn’t stop at lights, and fishtailed their cars on purpose. I just wanted to make it home without getting into an accident, is that too much to ask?

Finally, it was 1:00pm, three-and-a-half hours since we left, when I pulled up to the front of our house. Turk encouraged me to back my car up our gravel section of our mega-steep driveway, but got out first to move a garbage can that was in the way. His car was parked on the sidewalk next to where I was attempting to back up. I pulled my car forward so I could get a good start at the driveway (I told you, it’s steep!), put it in reverse and gave it some gas.

I got up over the sidewalk and was doing great… until my front tires caught the edge of the sidewalk and whipped my car sideways into Turk’s car. I heard the sickening crunch as my wheel-well smashed against his bumper. I put on the break, stared at Turk who was cringing, and put my face in my hands.

I had avoided all of those potential accidents, only to smash into our own car. Oh, the irony.

Fortunately- no, miraculously, there wasn’t a single dent or scratch on either of our cars. I was convinced that they would both be smashed up with how hard I hit them, but I got lucky.

Now, I have decided to stay inside and not drive anywhere until there is no more damn ice. Cozy in my home: Check.

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