Oh, what a beautiful morning

(More substantial entry below.)

Well, hi there! How is your day going so far? Mine is going great! Wanna see? . . .

6:15 Wake up; feel proud that I am up on time; get ready

6:45 Hear Ari stir; go in her room to get her ready

6:46 Realize that Ari is not in the greatest mood, as evidenced by the incessant whining

6:58:00 Proceed to go out the door, but am stopped by Ari, who refuses to step outside because it's "cooooold"

6:58:10 Get Ari her hoodie and coax her outside

7:00 Get on the road, still feeling proud that I am on time

7:01 Stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, complaining silently about the slow line but knowing that won't stop me from continuing to go there

7:14:00 Prepare to exit highway and notice that there seems to be a lot of white smoke coming out my exhaust. Think, "Huh. That's weird."

7:14:30 Stop at end of exit ramp and notice that car is now surrounded by white smoke, which appears to be billowing out from underneath my car. Glance at temperature gauge and see it is on "H." Think, "This is not good."

7:15:00 Turn right off exit ramp, not even thinking of turning into the gas station that is RIGHT THERE, straight in front of me. Pull off to the side of the road and turn car off, praying that car is not actually on fire.

7:15:30 Am still alive--car has not blown up; call Tony and try not to sound too damsel-in-distress-y as I say, "My car is overheating--what do I do?"

7:16 Finish conversation with Tony (who wonders why I didn't just pull into the gas station); wait patiently for him to come rescue us

7:17 Call babysitter and tell her why I'm running late

7:17 through 7:40 Try to keep Ari entertained, which involves sharing donut with her, pouring her some milk, and handing her various toys which quickly get chucked onto the floor

7:40 Tony calls and tells me he is going to stop at Wal-Mart to buy anti-freeze; tells me if smoke has subsided I should pop hood to help engine cool off

7:41 through 8:05 Continue to entertain Ari, who is not in the mood to sing her ABCs or count to 10 or any of the other fun little things she usually likes to do

8:05 Tony arrives; checks car; discovers that upper radiator hose has a giant crack in it; feel slightly relieved that it was that rather than just me forgetting to check fluids (which often happens)

8:07 Switch cars; bid Tony good-bye with a hug and kiss; Ari whines all the way to Mary's for "Daaaaaddyyyy"

8:10 Call Tony and ask him if he wants me to swing by the ATM and withdraw cash for him (since he doesn't have a debit card right now, since he left it with a friend and hasn't been able to coordinate with that person to get it back); he says yes

8:11 Arrive at Mary's and drop off Ari, who, as usual, is more than ready to bid me good-bye

8:14 Prepare to leave Mary's; call boss to leave message and let her know I'll be late; get cut off in middle of first message and have to call back and leave 2nd message to finish explaining, so that she will know I am alive and unhurt

8:20 Stop at gas station because of course Tony's car is low on gas (as was mine, so I would have had to stop anyway)

8:22 Tony calls and asks me to go to auto parts store nearby to get new hose (why not, right? I'm already ridiculously late); says he's asked Wayne to meet me at the bank to get hose and money and take it all to Tony (who will be getting car towed to nearby mechanic's shop, where he hopes to fix the hose himself, since he knows the people who work there)

8:24:00 Arrive at auto parts store; walk inside while trying to call Tony; phone goes straight to voicemail

8:24:15 Realize I have left purse in car; go outside to retrieve it while still dialing Tony

8:25:20 Walk back inside store only to realize that wallet is still in car because I had taken it out of my purse when I got gas; go back out to car

8:25 Walk into store for the third time; Tony answers phone; gives me instructions on what to ask for

8:26:00 Tell sales associate what I need, feeling proud that I know all the answers to his questions about the car

8:27 Sales associate comes back with hose; asks me if I need clamps; proud feeling dissipates as I realize I don't know about clamps; call Tony

8:28:00 Tell sales associate that yes, I need clamps

8:28:10 Sales associate asks if I want to donate $1 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research foundation; I say yes (have soft spot for JDRF since a childhood friend has it)

8:30 Leave auto parts store to go to bank

8:35 Pull up to drive-up ATM, realize that the thingy you insert the card into is pushed way back into machine; figure this is not a good thing

8:36 Circle around in order to get to the other drive-up ATM (good thing there were 2, huh?); see Wayne pull into parking lot

8:38 Pull away from ATM; ignore ringing phone, knowing it's Wayne

8:39 Give money and parts to Wayne, along with spontaneous thank-you hug

8:40 Pull onto road, headed for highway; pop in "Mamma Mia!" soundtrack, feeling in need of some peppy music

9:20 Arrive at work with "Take a Chance on Me" stuck in my achy head

Oh yeh, folks, the above story is all true (though times may be approximated). With a fantastic morning like this, who knows what the afternoon will hold?

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