This post is dedicated to my amazing husband, whom I sometimes refer to as my "boyfriend" because saying that just adds an element of emotion understood mainly by those who similarly relate to life on a "Twilight" level.
Anyhow. . . did I mention that "my boyfriend" is *A-MA-ZING!*? He is. Mainly because he can do things that just totally baffle me like programming ones and zeros in ways that make the world go round; or looking at something he knows little about and figuring out how to fix it--like the window, mirror, brakes, (etc.) on my van!
I have a saying that goes "no good deed goes unpunished." It seems to fit me perfectly! I should probably just stop saying that because it could just be karma coming back to bite me in the butt, but in situations like this, It seems warranted!
I was pulling weeds at the community garden which is about a block and an half from my house. I chose to drive that day because I was lazy and didn't want to have to haul veggies back to my house. I parked my van on the side of the road fairly close to the stop sign, but not closer than 30 feet, which, if I remember correctly from my recent driver's license test that I actually passed the first time after many hours of studying, is the closest that you can legally park to a stop sign in ID.
I heard a CRUNCH as a car drove by--kind of like they ran over a soda can. I stood up to watch the car drive off after stopping at the stop sign. I didn't see anything strange because my view to the street was blocked by my van, so I bent down and began to pull weeds again.
The guy across the street started yelling to me and asking me if they threw something at my van. That's when I clued in that the CRUNCHING sound wasn't from a can, it was from the back window of my van!!!
The guy across the street, now all pumped up with adrenaline, hopped into his truck with giant tires and peeled out after the car. Unfortunately the car got away before he could catch them.
I turned to look at the street, and saw dark, black speckles all over the road. It didn't look much like glass until I got a little closer. "Ahhh, yes, I recognize that. Safety glass." My memory flashed back to the day Emily bumped the glass out of the patio table which exploded into millions of tiny pieces as it hit the concrete.
There was glass all over the road.
There was glass all over the inside of my van.
I was in shock.
I tried to hold it together. We had just gotten the van out of the shop the day before!
Why would someone drive up next to my old beat up van with me bent over, sweaty and covered with mud, working a few feet away and throw a rock at the window. Or worse yet, shoot the window with a gun or slingshot? What is this crazy world coming to?
Unfortunately, it was around 5:00 PM. And what happens at 5:00 PM in a small town, is that every person in the neighborhood drives home from work, or the grocery store, or after school sports or programs, or decides to take a leisurely drive around the block! It was very embarrassing standing there, in the road, with a broom in one hand, and trash can in the other, listening to the recently arrived (lights flashing) police officer explain that the tire of the car driving by most likely flipped a rock up at just the right speed and angle to smash a huge window. "Happens all the time. We get a couple of these a year." he said.
Comforting.
The neighbor had me pull up on his grass ( I drove right on up and over his curb) and he brought out his shop vac and vacuumed out every piece of glass out of my van. Almost. He said that I would probably be finding glass 10 years down the road. I hope I won't be finding glass 10 years down the road in that van!
I held it together until the next morning when I was telling the story to my mom. I broke down and cried. Embarrassing. I told her that I didn't know why I was crying about a stupid window! She told me that it happens when you have an empathetic ear. I'm grateful for my mom. She is that warm and amazingly compassionate listener that can make a grown woman cry.
Someone tipped us off to the local junk yard and we found a used window for $44.95! It was such a bargain, that we decided to go ahead and purchase the left mirror for $41.99 and replace it too. The other smashed mirror will just have to wait for the next round.
Labor--FREE!
What I learned that day. . . Accidents happen; Material things can be replaced; The guy on the corner with the truck with the really big tires is a friend; Mom will always be there; and James is an amazing fixer of all things!
As far as my slogan, "no good deed goes unpunished", well I won't stop doing the good deeds because I know that blessings often go unseen and unheard, but I know they are there, along with the little and sometimes humorous punishments.
My contribution: cleaning the very sticky and plentiful amount of goo splattered on the "new" window.
Just look at that amazing guy!
He's not too bad on the eyes either!
And with the new mirror.
One tiny cry.
Mama sings a lullaby.
Where oh, where has the time gone?
