The Unexpected

Oh, is it my turn to post? Sorry, I guess I’ve been distracted by a few other things. You know, the usual daily routines of raising children. Feeding, clothing, transporting. Also, children’s birthdays (two this week); school fundraisers; work deadlines; book group (at least I finished the book this time. But, um, isn’t it my pick? Damn.); preparing for a crew race this weekend; paying bills creatively; planning a birthday party; and the list goes on. But it is the transporting that got a little more difficult this week. Sunday evening, on the way back from a family visit, my car of five years decided to stop working. Nothing dramatic. We rolled to the safety of a highway rest area. Tow truck came with enough room for all five of us, including car seats. Sarah rescued us all from the tow yard and brought us and the contents of my car back home. And now life is even more complicated than usual.
That’s the way it seems to go around here. And I’m tired but glad we’re all safe. I’m wondering where the money will come from to pay for the repairs (which promise to be steep), but I’m strangely calm. Maybe it’s because of the birthdays. Because my oldest baby girl turns 4 tomorrow. I am understanding that birthdays are as much for the parents as for the kids. When I think about her birthday, I can’t help but go back to the day I was folding all of S’s clean tiny baby clothes. No sooner was I sitting on the couch comfortably than I was kneeling on the floor doubled over. Sarah didn’t even make it to the delivery room that day. S came too fast. (One of the first things Sarah said to me after learning of S’s arrival was, “Well, you’ll have to have another one.” And so the idea of a third child arrived upon the birth of the second.)
So here I am, with a child about to turn 4 and no car and a soon-to-be decimated bank account. But life goes on. My kids are healthy. My home is safe. My family is happy.
And I remembered to post.

Tagged as: family outings