Let me tell you about my day and how much it sucked, and why that’s okay.

I planned to drop the boys off at their bus stop then go back home instead of to the gym like most morning because I had a lot of work to get done.

We got to the bus stop and waited, but the bus didn’t show. Actually came to find out it was early today. Not too many people use it in the mornings, so I guess they don’t wait around. Annoying, but okay.

So I took the boys to school, which was cool because they wanted to listen to The Ode to Joy, and who doesn’t get happy from listening to young kids “singing” to that? Highlight of my day. (Not being sarcastic.)

I drop them off and go on my way. Make a left turn about half a mile down the road and the van starts feeling like it’s dragging. And it’s tilted to one side. Definite flat tire, so I pull into the mall parking lot. That sucker’s GONE. At first I thought maybe I ran over something in the parking lot, then I notice the tread, or complete lack thereof. Not sure why I didn’t notice before that the tire was practically smooth (or why it wasn’t pointed out when I took it in for something else recently). Check the other side and it’s not quite as bad. I mean, I can still kinda feel the ridges of the tread. A little.

There’s no spare. Never has been. Fortunately we have AAA. But they say they won’t have anyone out until after 10:00. It’s not quite 8.
I decide to walk way across the parking lot to the nearest place of food to get some breakfast and pass the time, so I heard to Panera. Unfortunately the wind was wide open across the empty parking lot and went right through the hoodie and t-shirt I was wearing, at which point I realized that between that, my loafer Crocs, and my un-wetted hair, I might look nearly homeless, as I’d just planned on going home after dropping the boys off.

And the wind is blowing straight in at me, making it hard to breathe while I’m leaving a message for the vet to cancel an appointment for Augie and Hazel. That’s after rescheduling one last week because our other car is having a battery issue and we haven’t had a chance to take that in yet, and the appointment was the same time as school pick-up, which isn’t a problem when you have two cars, but is when you have to decide to take the dogs to the vet or pick up your kids form school. But next time we schedule with them, we’ll have to pay a deposit, which is fine because we get the money back when we go in, but still.

So I get to Panera, and little bonus, I get a free danish for joining their loyalty program, which I thought I was already on, but hey, a free danish is a free danish.

By the time I left there it had warmed up a little outside. I trek back across the parking lot and sit in my flat-ass van, putzing around on my phone, when I get news that the tow truck will come get me earlier than expected, which ended up being about 9:15.

The guy tows me to within a stone’s throw of the boys’ school, which I left about an hour and a half ago. I walk into the place and explain my situation to a friendly guy behind the counter then sit around for about four hours during which time I’m told that in addition to the two tires I requested, I might want to get new brake pads because it’s nearly metal on metal, so, yeah, just go ahead and double my unexpected bill. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

I suppose I could have gotten an Uber home, but then I’d have had to get another one back as, as was mentioned, our other car is having battery issues, but I stuck it out and now it’s about 1:15. My phone battery is at about 18% because what else did I have to do while waiting for my tires and brakes but to scroll through Facebook and Instagram and play some games on my phone? I could have watched the Star Trek movies that were on the TV in the waiting area I guess.

At any rate, it’s 1:15 and I have to get Phoenix to an appointment at 3:20. I could go home and come back to get the boys, but I’d barely have an hour to work, which would just be annoying more than anything else. So I ask Tristen if we need anything from the store and end up making a trip to Sam’s. Pretty uneventful, and about an hour later I’m back in the same neck of the woods, first in line to pick the boys up from school.

It’s about that time that I remembered I told them this morning that I’d have their tablets so Fawkes and Phoenix can be entertained while Phoenix has his appointment. But alas, I never went home and, as such, never got the tablets. So onward I march, ill-prepared to try to listen to an orthodontist while managing two kids who tend to be rather restless after school.

We did arrive a bit early, and it’s possible that I’d have had time to take the other two boys home, but fortunately we were seen a few minutes early. Phoenix went to go giggle and laugh and ask what things were while getting his mouth 3D scanned while Fawkes and Griffin fortunately found a wall kids could write on. I only had to tell them to not be loud once or twice.

We get home. Tristen helps me unload the van (there wasn’t much) and then I get to work, break for dinner and to watch the end of an episode of Face Off. Milly gets home about the time the boys are going to bed. Her theater class went to a competition today and apparently kicked ass, taking many awards. I went to see the plays last week, and they were pretty good, actually.

I’m not caught up, but I got some things done.

Now, I said at the beginning I’d say why it was okay that my day sucked.

Missing the bus, that was annoying. The flat tire pissed me off, but it was really only my own fault. The cold wind blowing the air out of me and freezing me, that didn’t help my feelings. Wasting a day sitting in an auto shop when I felt I really needed to get some work done, that was frustrating. Stressing out about getting Phoenix to his appointment and making sure the other two weren’t making nuisances of themselves was, well, a little stressful.

But it all worked out. I’m lucky enough that we can take care of these charges. I’ll catch up with my work. I got a free danish. The boys were pretty good (and got all good marks on their report cards). Milly had a great day.

The biggest thing though is that it all could have been so much worse. We were driving back from visiting my parents yesterday. Getting a flat tire on a Sunday driving down I-40 with a van full of kids and a dog would have been awful. Even getting the flat on the way to school instead of right after dropping them off would have added a lot of stress. (Although I suppose Torrie would have been happy to help, since she’d have just dropped off Sebastian and Gabriel.)

The point is, when a day has you down and stressed and frustrated and angry, look for the little things, and remember that, in most cases, things could be worse.

Alright, already and we’ll all float on
Alright, already and we’ll all float on
Alright, don’t worry even if things end up a bit too heavy
We’ll all float on
Alright, already, we’ll all float on