Terrible Tuesdays: My Car is Stuck

snowy Toledo

Sunday was the Superbowl. You probably knew that, but I like to be clear. Sunday was also a very long day in the Life of Natalie. We were up in Toledo for a funeral this past weekend, and on Sunday, I had two sick parents, a dog with a bleeding dew claw and paranoia, a lot of cleaning to do, and a four-hour car ride. Let's also note, that this was at the end of a weekend where I felt the most like a kid I have felt in a long time. (Please note this is not anyone's fault of anything, but something about sleeping on a couch, being the only single person around, having no privacy, and not being in charge of what was happening at all will do that to a person.)

age I felt last weekend

So it was a long weekend. And when we finally got back to Athens, I felt like I had just read the most meandering novel ever. Probably we all felt like that--blurry eyes, dry mouth, a desire to crawl under the blankets but an inability to sleep....or maybe that was just me?

Anyway, I had made plans to go watch the Superbowl. And I was feeling crazy already, after being cooped up in snowy Toledo. You know when you can sort of feel the tears rising in your throat and they make no sense, so you just ignore them because all you want to feel is normal? It was sort of that feeling all day.

cooped up

We back into the driveway at home, and of course it's slippery. Dad puts the brakes on, and we decide to just haul our stuff in from there. Of course, the first thing to happen is I fall down, dropping my pillow in the snow and landing a bit hard on my right wrist. After righting myself, I proceed to almost fall 3 more times before reaching the top of the driveway. Remember the mounting frustration, and let's continue...

...we unloaded the car slowly, and I got salt all over my pants from bracing myself on the van...

...I'm getting ready to leave and my mother's sincere, good intentions confuse me, and so I become impatient and further frustrated...

...I go to put on my rubber boots and step in melted snow (from me, earlier), thus soaking my warmest socks, and requiring me to go back upstairs, get dry socks, walk in the melted snow with bare feet back to my wet boots, dry my feet and then put on the socks and boots again...

...then I realize I left my coat upstairs...

...after which I can't find the keys I had in my hand when the sock debacle began, and I start rummaging angrily through my giant, bottomless purse...

site of debacle, bottom right corner

...during all of which my parents are being extremely nice which just makes me feel crazier in comparison...

...so I head out to clean off my car, which means I end up with snow up my sleeve...

...and then...my car won't budge from the curb.

The wheels are spinning. I can smell hot tires. But it the pavement is clear under my car, and all my rationality is slipping away faster and faster. I am pretty sure I growled at this point, and then yanked my keys from the ignition, stomp up the driveway and wrench open the door.

Me: "SO, MY CAR IS STUCK."

Mom and Dad come to the top of the stairs.

Dad: "What?"

Me: "THE WHEELS ARE SPINNING AND IT WON'T MOVE."

Dad: "Keep the wheels strai--"

Me: "I DID THAT DON'T YOU THINK I DID THAT."

Dad: "Natalie, you don't need to get worked up like this."

Me: "I'M SORRY I'M JUST TIRED AND...AND...WAHH AHH AHHH...."

Yup, big, grown-up Natalie starts bawling. I throw my keys on the stairs and had the decency to walk away for the moment. I knew, during the moment, that I was being irrational. But it couldn't be helped. It was inevitable that I was going to cry at some point during the evening, and when my Taurus wouldn't budge, it was the end.

Luckily, my saintly mother (recognizing something in me, perhaps?), followed me out the door. She salted under my tires, and gave me a push, and I pulled out. On my way to get gas (oh, yeah, my gas light was on, which always gets me a little panicky), I kept up this awful, gulping sob noise. It was bizarre. Honestly, looking back, it's obvious that I was overstressed from the funeral, the tight quarters, and feeling a little helpless all weekend. And of course, it ended up being a nice evening, and I returned to normal fairly quickly.

Anyone else get that rising-tears-crazy feeling from time to time? Isn't it the worst? Hopefully the story I tell next Tuesday doesn't involve anymore tears!

acting normal again