The weather is not cooperating. It's sprinkling and supposed to start raining in earnest in a bit, but we will be on the road before it gets too bad. And then the radar shows us driving out of it within the hour. No big deal. (This is foreshadowing in case it wasn't obvious)
My pep talk to myself started last night and continues this morning. I'm going to eat healthy today, because I'm doing so well! I'm down about 15 pounds since we started this plant-based eating thing. And I only have another 15 to go. Salad for lunch, and I'm ready. Ha! I laugh in the face of hunger and temptation. Ha, I say! Nothing can break my iron will (more foreshadowing - I'm getting good at this).
My last order of business is bringing in the slideouts. And a one and a two and a - ummm. Hmmm. The slideout for our bedroom did not budge nor make a sound. I mean, not even a clicking noise.
The next thing I do is what any rational human being would do. I try what has worked in the past. So I push the button a dozen more times. Then, I stare at it. Then, I push it a few more times. Nothing. Well, I have done my part. I tell Henry to fix it.
Henry immediately springs into problem-solving mode and checks all of the fuses and connections -that he knows about. This takes about 5 minutes and he tries it again. Still nothing. Well. So much for leaving today. I call 3 mobile repair RV places. As previously mentioned in this blog, these rarely work out. It will be Friday before one can get to us. Another one very kindly offers to try to get to us sometime this afternoon. We may end up being at their mercy. I start thinking outside the box and go for youtube. Surely, we are not the first people to encounter this issue. There are a bunch of videos about how to bring it in manually. Except not the one we have. So I go outside and check in all of the front and side compartments. I tell Henry that it looks like there is another connection. He stares at me for a minute, gets up and goes out. It is now raining in earnest. He yells at me to try it. Nothing. He says try it again. I do, and incredibly, the slideout moves and we are ready to roll! He gives me all the credit, but really I know that it's the magic of his brain.
10:30am: We are outta here! So it's a little later than we thought, but it's okay. We should still be there before dark. The radar still shows us driving out of the rain in an hour or so. And I'm still not hungry! Amazing.
10:50am: We all hear and feel a bump but nothing major. We ignore it.
11am: We are still trying to get out of Dallas, when a truck slowly passes us. The passenger has his window down, in spite of the rain. Hahaha, how silly. Except he's signaling to us that we have a problem. Oh. I guess he's not that silly then. We pull over on what seems to me like a really crazy stretch of highway. Cars are zipping by at 70mph. This is the only truly terrifying part of the day for me, as Henry and his magic brain get out of the car and investigate the problem. I'm sure he's going to be run over. He isn't, but I can't quite shake the stress of that. He informs us that not only is our tire blown, but it's shredded.
Okay! I go into efficiency mode and call roadside assistance. No problem. Be there in 45 minutes. Well, it's Dallas, we say. That seems like a long time, but it's a big city.
This is where my ability to check out of reality becomes a Super Power. Don't worry, I use this for good, not evil. I tell the occupants of the car that we are warm and dry and have electricity AND internet. What more can we want? Be grateful, I say. I then shut down all external function and do jigsaw puzzles and play solitaire.
11:30am: There is no sign of the tow truck. Henry calls again. Yes, right, he's on his way but it's going to be longer than he thought.
We decide to wait a bit longer. For the first time, I notice that I'm more than a little bit hungry.
Jigsaw. Solitaire. I then belatedly realize that I could also be reading as we are at a standstill. I can't read when the car is moving, but this I can do. Erin and I traipse through the rain and tall grass on the side of the road to use the RV's, ahem, facilities and I grab a book. My shoes and socks are wet all the way through when we get back to the truck. No problem, say I! It's fine, just an inconvenience. I congratulate myself for my ability to take all of this in stride.
12:30m: No sign of the tow truck guy, so we decide to try to limp toward the nearest exit. This goes well and we stop in a gas station parking lot. Tow truck guy is informed of our new location and he says he will be there in half an hour...or so. We're all hungry now.
1pm: Nope, he's not here. I'm ravenous by now and also working really hard at staying positive. Ethan is starving and says so, vehemently, every 2-6 minutes. I can see a McDonald's, so I make the executive decision to go on foot for vittles. I commandeer Erin to be my back up. Ethan is told to stay behind and "help" his dad wait for the repair guy.
1:30pm: I had a Big Mac. Don't judge me. I think it was delicious, or would have been had I stopped shoveling it my face long enough to taste it.
1:45pm: The guy shows up! Omg, we can hardly believe it and practically weep with gratitude. He fiddles around near the tire for awhile and then announces that he doesn't have the right size tools for this job.
...
He wants to go and buy them, because (and I'm quoting now) "I'll probably need them anyway." You think? You think you'll need tools for your job? As a repairman? I barely refrain from saying this out loud. After all, he still seems like our best shot for getting out of here.
Off he goes.
2pm: I go into the gas station and get a whole bunch of candy. It's a blur. I eat some/all of it. I don't know.
2:35pm: A tow truck pulls up and a guy gets out. It's not our guy! What the heck? Ah, we get it. The other guy called in back up. This new guy greets us and then gets to work. As he's fixing the tire, Tow Truck Guy #1 shows up and watches him. No sign of the newly purchased tools.
3pm: It is fixed! WHEW! We're okay. This is going to be fine. We thank them both profusely (especially the second guy) and we are on the road!
It is pouring like crazy, but the radar shows that we should drive out of this in a couple of hours. Great! We will be there by 9pm.
3:01pm: It's rush hour. In Dallas. I check out. Jigsaw puzzle. Solitaire. I can still read. That's how slowly we are moving.
4:30pm: We are leaving Dallas! Woohoo! Okay, so we'll be there around 10. Or so. That's fine! We'll still wake up in Galveston tomorrow morning. I call ahead to the RV park to tell them we will be a late arrival. The rep is so competent and friendly that I doubt his ability to live in the same dimension at Tow Truck Guy #1. I fall all over myself thanking him for his ability to do his job.
5:30pm: Everyone else wants to stop to eat. I, on the other hand, feel the Big Mac sitting in my stomach like a lump of wet sand in the bottom of a plastic bucket. It's sloshing around and generally making me nauseous. But we find a DQ and I have a salad. Everyone else seems revived. It is still pouring.
7pm: Still raining. Henry is tempted to just stop for the night. It's dark and we're all exhausted. But radar says we will driving out of it in 20 minutes. We are all getting more and more annoyed with each other. The kids have started bickering, so I order them to look out their windows without speaking for 10 minutes. Of course, it is dark and it's raining, so this turns out to be a worse punishment than usual. Jigsaw. Solitaire.
7:21pm: Still raining. Radar says we'll driving out of it in 20 minutes. I'm holding it together, but barely. Maybe it's not a Super Power after all. Maybe long drives are my Kryptonite. I giggle maniacally at how funny this is, but I manage to stop when I realize I am dangerously close to an all out fit.
7:42pm: Still raining. In fact, I think it's coming down harder now. The storm appears to be shifting directly into our path. Radar says we're almost out of it, though.
7:48pm: Ethan asks what smells. Henry snaps back, "Your butt" and I feel something snap like a rubber band inside my brain. A half snort/chuckle escapes my mouth and I'm off. Those who know me well will understand what happens next. I start laughing and Can. Not. Stop. This is akin to a tiny and mirthful panic attack. Henry glances at me, sees what is happening and rolls his eyes without saying anything. Makes me laugh harder.
7:53pm: I am exhausted from the laughing fit and can do nothing more than stare disconsolately out the window as Ethan continuously asks if I'm okay.
8:45pm: Henry swears that if it does not stop raining soon, we will pull into the next hotel we see. The radar says we will drive out of it any minute now, honey.
9:30pm: We finally drive out of the rain. We don't actually believe it at first, because we can all still see and hear it in our imaginations. But it finally sinks in that we've left the storm behind us. I'd cheer, but I'm too tired.
10:30pm: We arrive! Henry drives over the grass getting into our spot. No one cares. Thank goodness it's a pull through. No tricky backing into a spot in the dark. Yay! We stop the car. But then Henry tells me that it's not quite right. Could I just back it up 3 feet? I give him a look that really should have turned him to stone on the spot. But, well, that isn't my Super Power. I back it up. We set up and get inside at which point he tells me that it was probably better where it was the first time. He is lucky to be alive.
There you have it! In the grand scheme of things, it could have been so much worse. No one was injured in the making of this horrific day. We were always safe (well, except for stopping on the highway).
