Mother's Day Averted

My excitement to head north on Mother’s Day was intense.  The plan was to pick up my daughter on my way and my mom and sister, Mary, would be waiting for us up in St. Ignace.

I planned ahead to avoid the back-ups on 23 North and took 96 West to 127 North.  I got very sleepy before I got to about Ithaca and made myself stop and get some coffee and take a break at a McDonald’s there.

My excitement to head north on Mother’s Day was intense.  The plan was to pick up my daughter on my way and my mom and sister, Mary would be waiting for us up in St. Ignace.

I planned ahead to avoid the back-ups on 23 North and took 96 West to 127 North.  I got very sleepy before I got to about Ithaca and made myself stop and get some coffee and take a break at a McDonald’s there.

It was more of a break than I had intended.  I locked my keys in my vehicle.  ARGH!   I couldn’t believe it!  

In the middle of nowhere, anxious to get where I’m going and the brakes are slammed on my plans.

I called AAA and asked for roadside assistance.  The young woman clarified where I lived (in order to verify I was who I said I was) and promised some assistance.  “Road assistance is very busy in that area right now, they’ll be there in an hour and a half at the latest,” she said. 

I thought to myself, “How busy can they be in this small town of Ithaca?  There must be an accident or only one person available to offer assistance.”

I waited.  I had my purse with two little booklets inside.  I had my phone.  I had a comfortable place to wait.  I sat down and began to explain the dilemma to my family (especially Elizabeth, who was waiting for me to pick her up on my way through northern Michigan)  Mom and Mary weren’t concerned about a delay, they wished me luck.

I tried hard to get some perspective on how awful this is I’m delayed.  I got a coffee and sat looking out the window facing the entrance to the MdDonald’s, where I was waylaid.

I sift through my purse and read the manual for the new Ninja Mixer I just purchased, for making smoothies.  I even read every detail to each recipe and contemplated which sauces, cool drinks,  and dressings I could make.

I had a very, small book on gardening quotes I recently found at Kiwanis Resale, in Ann Arbor.  I flipped from front to back several times, reading each and every quote, trying to decide which one really struck me.  I wanted quotes profound enough to possibly carve on a piece of driftwood, for my gardening family and friends.

More than an hour passed and I wondered if I’d every get out of this scary, small town.  And out of this McDonald’s!  

After about ninety minutes I got a call from AAA.  “Ma’am, we are here at your apartment parking lot and we can’t find your vehicle.”   

“I’m not there, I’m in Ithaca,”  I told the service representative as I gritted my teeth.   

I proceeded to ask questions to find out how this could have happened?  I understood (from my other keys-locked-in-the car incidences) they were able to track me by my phone and my vehicle, they didn’t need to assume I was at home.

“Ma’am, I’ll need to talk to my supervisor, can I put you on hold?”  I assured him I’d glad to wait while he cleared up this mess.

Meanwhile, the service person (in Ann Arbor) who was called to open up my car called,  “I’m here to open up your car….”  I explained it all to him.  “I hope AAA will pay you for your service call, “ I said.  

“No, they won’t, but, that’s okay, have a nice day,” he said kindly.

Sweet of him not to call me an imbecile.  By the time I was done speaking with him, the AAA representative was back on the phone.  “We will be sending someone out so you can get your keys and be on your way.  They should be there within the hour.”

I couldn’t put my head down and take a nap, I had to watch for the service truck.  I couldn’t eat.  I was at McDonald’s and there was very little to choose from that would be considered raw food.

I stood up and started pacing.  I knew I’d still have a couple of hours of travel and I didn’t need to sit.  I watched person after person come and go in this rural-American, fast-food place.   

I told myself not to get upset.  I hated having my daughter waiting for to meet her.  I hated not being with Mom and Mary.  I was starving and tired and….this was small stuff in the scope of things.  

Daughter, Sister and Mom
(and Ellie the dog, of course)

When the person arrived to open up my vehicle he didn’t look too enthusiastic.  He didn’t look too knowledgeable.  Especially when he asked me to look from the other side of the car to see if he was “Wiggling” anything.  “Is it wigglin?” he asked three different times.  

My excitement to head north on Mother’s Day was intense.  The plan was to pick up my daughter on my way and my mom and sister, Mary would be waiting for us up in St. Ignace.

I planned ahead to avoid the back-ups on 23 North and took 96 West to 127 North.  I got very sleepy before I got to about Ithaca and made myself stop and get some coffee and take a break at a McDonald’s there.

It was more of a break than I had intended.  I locked my keys in my vehicle.  ARGH!   I couldn’t believe it! 

In the middle of nowhere, anxious to get where I’m going and the brakes are slammed on my plans.

A Mother's Day After the Fact

I called AAA and asked for roadside assistance.  The young woman clarified where I lived (in order to verify I was who I said I was) and promised some assistance.  “Road assistance is very busy in that area right now, they’ll be there in an hour and a half at the latest,” she said. 

I thought to myself, “How busy can they be in this small town of Ithaca?  There must be an accident or only one person available to offer assistance.”

I waited.  I had my purse with two little booklets inside.  I had my phone.  I had a comfortable place to wait.  I sat down and began to explain the dilemma to my family (especially Elizabeth, who was waiting for me to pick her up on my way through northern Michigan)  Mom and Mary weren’t concerned about a delay, they wished me luck.

I tried hard to get some perspective on how awful this is I’m delayed.  I got a coffee and sat looking out the window facing the entrance to the MdDonald’s where I’m waylaid.

I sift through my purse and read the manual for the new Ninja Mixer I just purchased, for making smoothies.  I even read every detail to each recipe and contemplated which sauces, cool drinks,  and dressings I could make.

I had a very, small book on gardening quotes I recently found at Kiwanis Resale, in Ann Arbor.  I flipped from front to back several times, reading each and every quote, trying to decide which one really struck me.  I wanted quotes profound enough to possibly carve on a piece of driftwood, for my gardening family and friends.

More than an hour passed and I wondered if I’d every get out of this scary, small town.  And out of this McDonald’s!  

After about ninety minutes I got a call from AAA.  “Ma’am, we are here at your apartment parking lot and we can’t find your vehicle.”   

“I’m not there, I’m in Ithaca,”  I told the service representative as I gritted my teeth.   

I proceeded to ask questions to find out how this could have happened?  I understood (from my other keys-locked-in-the car incidences) they were able to track me by my phone and my vehicle, they didn’t need to assume I was at home.

“Ma’am, I’ll need to talk to my supervisor, can I put you on hold?”  I assured him I’d glad to wait while he cleared up this mess.

Meanwhile, the service person (in Ann Arbor) who was called to open up my car called,  “I’m here to open up your car….”  I explained it all to him.  “I hope AAA will pay you for your service call, “ I said.  

“No, they won’t, but, that’s okay, have a nice day,” he said kindly.

Sweet of him not to call me an imbecile.  By the time I was done speaking with him, the AAA representative was back on the phone.  “We will be sending someone out so you can get your keys and be on your way.  They should be there within the hour.”

I couldn’t put my head down and take a nap, I had to watch for the service truck.  I couldn’t eat.  I was at McDonald’s and there was very little to choose from that would be considered raw food.

I stood up and started pacing.  I knew I’d still have a couple of hours of travel and I didn’t need to sit.  I watched person after person come and go in this rural-American, fast-food place.   

I told myself not to get upset.  I hated having my daughter waiting for to meet her.  I hated not being with Mom and Mary.  I was starving and tired and….this was small stuff in the scope of things.  

When the person arrived to open up my vehicle he didn’t look too enthusiastic.  He didn’t look too knowledgeable.  Especially when he asked me to look from the other side of the car to see if he was “Wiggling” anything.  “Is it wigglin?” he asked three different times.  

I wanted to yell, “What do you think?  If it was wigglin’ I would tell you!!! It’s NOT wiggling!”

Another long, half hour went by while he attempted to wiggle the lock open.  When it did open he didn’t say a word, got back in his truck and drove off.  

My son, Holden,  was suppose to Skype with me on Mother’s Day from Berlin.  I told him we’d Skype the next day which would be MY Mother’s Day. This day didn’t count. I wasn’t deleting the learning experience, but the time wasted in limbo.