Thursday, December 16, 2010

Just A Tap

I had quite a busy morning. First I had to get Capt. Adorable and myself dressed and fed and out the door in time to drop him off at school. Once I dropped him off I had to rush to get to my next appointment (more about that in another blog post). I was eager to get there because I was looking forward to seeing a friend there. I had to leave 15 minutes early, though, because I had to rush off to an endodontist appointment for a root canal re-do. The endodontist visit was pretty painless and the happy dentist amused me by humming and even singing along to the carols on the radio in the office. It was also quick; I arrived at the office at 10:02 and walked out at 10:44. It was much quicker than I expected, so I suddenly had some time to fill. I decided to go to the mall (just across the street) and read my book over coffee. Then I realised I couldn't drink coffee with my numb face, plus I had a lot of time, so I decided to try on some jeans. It was pretty fun.

By the time I left the mall at 11:30, there was snow covering the parking lot. In fact, there was already a fender bender there in the mall parking lot. I knew it was slippery and decided to drive carefully. It was indeed quite slippery and I heard and felt the anti-lock brakes come on a couple of times while driving to the preschool. On the way home, again driving slowly and cautiously, I had to stop at the bottom of a little hill where there was already a car stopped at a red light. I slowed down, then cautiously applied the brakes. The anti-lock came on but the car did not stop. I felt panic rising in my body. I could not stop and there was no where to go. I knew that I was going to hit the car in front of me. And then I did.

Fortunately it was just a tap. Captain Adorable was perfectly fine of course. The driver pulled up a little and we both got out. There was not even a mark on either car. I said I was sorry, that I could not stop and just slid down the hill. He said not to worry about it, that there was no damage and that he had done the same thing. We got back in our cars and when the light turned green we drove off.

I drove extra carefully all the way home and saw several other bump along the way (we're talking 5-6 miles total). We saw 3 snow plow/sand trucks on our way home, thank goodness. I considered stopping at the grocery store but did not because, well, I was scared of the trouble I could find in the parking lot and eager to get myself and my child out of danger. Tomorrow is my usual grocery day so I hope the roads get cleared tonight. Thank you, snow plow drivers!

Then at home I had to somehow shovel the driveway. I had no idea what to do because I know I cannot. Maybe over the course of several days, but that kinda defeats the point, no? Fortunately the snow was all powder and there was only about 2 inches (or less) on the ground. Captain Obvious advised me (by phone from San Francisco) to use the leaf blower. Thank goodness Capt. Adorable knew where everything was and helped me get set up. Once I was ready to start I noticed a neighbor down the street doing the exact same thing. It took a long time but the job got done!

No comments: