The Other Day

We were on our way home from the bike race when my car coughed, rattled and then died.  It pretty much stinks to have your car die when your entire family is inside and you are an hour and a half from home--no doubt about it.  But, there were many mini blessings:

• The car waited to go ka-poot until I was not on a mountain, not alone with my kiddos, and not without having an awesome morning cheering on our team Frandsen captain, Dadda.
• Though we were on a highway, the spot where the car pooped out was right by a road-side shop run by a few kind southern folk.
• We purchased our home owners insurance through AAA a month earlier, opting for the 100 mile towing policy--an expense that this break down paid for twice over.  After a few quick calls, the towing company came right over to carry our car to our favorite mechanic...who lives 78 miles from where we broke down.
• Jonny made a split second decision (that now feels like inspiration) to have his bike transported to Spartanburg rather than the bottom of the mountain where our car would have been responsible for getting it safely home.  When our car went down for the count, we were grateful for one less thing to worry about getting home.
• One short call to our sweet neighbors/landlords was all we needed to make to find a ride home.  As soon as Jonny said, "Our car broke down on HWY 221," Gary was out the door and on his way.

• The sweet Southern folk who hosted our stranded family on under the porch of their shop sold oreos, gum, FROG jam and boiled peanuts.  We always wanted to try boiled peanuts from a road-side stand (it's a Southern thing, you know), but we never had the excuse to stop and see what the fuss was all about.  The owner of the shop--who lived in the trailer across the road and had only been out of North Carolina once--said they taste kinda like "big kidney beans."  And he was pretty much right.  Not my favorite snack, but I'm glad I tried em.

And that was the other day.  Needless to say, today was full of homebound activities that I'm glad I had the excuse to get done: laundry, mopping, cleaning, and even a little bit of packing.  It's strange we only have a few weeks left in the land of the Southern folk and boiled peanuts.  We will be sad to go.  That is...if we have a car to leave in.