The Good, The Bad, and The Favor

Yesterday, when Kendall was finished with gymnastics and we were driving home we had a little mishap. Our Explorer has this little trick it likes to do with the gas gage; it goes up and down and never really lets you know how much gas you have. Sounds fun, right? I try and watch how many miles I have gone, but generally I just wait for the gas light to come on and pull into the closest station. The gas gage was registering 1/4 tank, but all of the sudden I felt the car loosing power and my steering wheel locking up. Super. Of course I am on the interstate, just to make things a little more interesting. So I pull off onto the shoulder. I am probably only two miles from my house, with a gas station on the way, and I am just praying that the car will start and help me make it to the gas station at the next exit. I turn the key and the engine revs to life! Are you kidding me?! I thought for sure that we were going to make it. But I only got another 100 ft or so before ol' Dora (get it... Dora the EXPLORER! Best car name ever) stopped again and made it quite clear she was done until she got some gas. Kind of picky for a car that doesn't tell me when to expect it, and yet, I really should stop cutting it so close all the time. Lesson learned. So I look back at the kiddos and miracle of miracles we actually have jackets and shoes, because it is cold and windy outside. "Okay," I say, "we have to get some gas in this car, so I need you guys to put your jackets on. And it is really important that you listen to me and stay right by mommy, got it?" I was expecting to hear some moans and protests, but they acted like Christmas had come early and couldn't wait to start walking. After a rainy morning the ground was really quite muddy, but I didn't dare walk on the shoulder so close to the cars, so I picked up Bryan, and Kendall and I tried to find as many grassy spots as we could. Just when I was expecting the complaining to start, sweet Kendall Bendall chimes in with, "Wow. This is really muddy. But it's okay if our shoes get muddy, cause we can just wipe them off. And this is just like an adventure, huh, mom? It's like we are in a movie!" I really do have the coolest kids in the world. It made me laugh to hear such optimism in a crummy situation, and that made Bryan and Kendall laugh, and we just laughed our way through the mud on our way to the gas station. Luckily, a really nice couple pulled over and asked if we needed a ride. They even had two booster seats in the back of their car! They drove us to our house, and after smothering them in appreciation, I got the gas cans full of gas for the mower and put them in the back of the Focus. (Unfortunately Ethan hasn't let me name the Focus, so it has to be referred to as just, the Focus. Lame, I know. Trust me, I have thrown out some real winners for him to consider, but he thinks that cars don't need names. HA! Silly Ethan. If only he knew how sad the Focus feels, especially sharing the garage with Dora. I still think I'll wear him down someday.) My neighbors were home and offered to let Kendall and Bryan stay there while neighbor Joe and I went to save good ol' Dora from roadside abandonment. Just to top off our bizarre day, while I am draining my gas can into the tank, some crazy driver lost control of his vehicle switching lanes too fast and starts flipping doughnuts on I-680! He spun around maybe two or three times on the road before he veered off, just missing the Explorer, Joe, and me by mere inches. It all happened so fast, but when I think back to it, my brain plays it in slow motion, and I send a grateful prayer to heaven that Kendall and Bryan were no where near either of the cars on the side of the road, that Joe and I and the driver were all safe, and that nothing happened to any of the cars. It was the recipe for a huge disaster, and we made it out safe and sound, and with a good story.


The bad news for the day is that Ethan still doesn't have a replacement coming out, and it is looking more and more like he is going to have to stay in the desert a little longer. Please, please let someone go out to replace him. Or please, let there be someone in the desert already that wants to stay one more rotation. We have been so excited that Ethan will be here for Halloween. He has missed so many things already, and we were really looking forward to being together as a family and enjoying all the traditions that come with Autumn. I want him to be with us when we go to the Pumpkin Patch and the Apple Orchard. I want him to be here while we make caramel apples and drink hot cider outside while we watch the stars come out. I want him to be here to see his kids get dressed up in their outfits and hit up the neighbors for candy, and I want him to be my partner in crime raiding their candy for all the good stuff after they go to bed! But mostly I want him to be here because I know how much he has been looking forward to being with them on Halloween for the first time in three years, and how much he wanted to wear a Buzz Lightyear costume just like Bry and be a part of this night that is magical and fun. My heart goes out to him. It is really hard to have him gone, and I miss him like crazy, and I keep holding on to the small glimmer of hope that somehow he will find a way to be here!

So now, for the favor. If you have any room left in your prayers tonight, please try and squeeze him in. I know that Halloween doesn't seem like a very big deal to miss, but Halloween is a big deal when you are a little kid, and I know he wants to be here and be a part of that. Halloween isn't one of those things you can re-do either. We can re-cook a Thanksgiving dinner, and we can always celebrate Christmas and our Anniversary on a different day (trust me, we have done all of these things) but you don't get to dress up and find people willing to share treats on any other day than Halloween. Which sort of doesn't seem fair. I should be sure to have some candy on hand in case a ghost and a pirate show up in June! But it would really mean a lot to us if Ethan could be here this year. Plus, I really don't want to have to wear that Buzz Lightyear costume...