I picked a bad week to give up crack

This story is epic.

I wish I could say it was one of a kind but since my life is full of chaos and drama and just plain old bad luck, there are more of them to follow.

This is just the most recent.

We spent the weekend in DC. And it was great. We got down there in record time and got to see Daughter #2's apartment. We had a really nice dinner and breakfast and we were really sad to have to leave. We havent seen daughter #2 since the summer and we have all really missed seeing her beautiful face and hanging out with her. It was short but sweet and up until the moment when it all went bad, it was so good.

It is always as we re-enter NY that our trip quickly goes to hell.

We listen to the radio and there is traffic everywhere. So we decide to get off on the outerbridge crossing and come through Perth Amboy and Staten Island.

We get off the exit and we are sitting in traffic and hubby is like "what is wrong with the car?" And I am like what... he says the car isnt working, can i get over to the side of the road?

We coast over and pull onto the side of the road. Click, click, click, click.

Nothing...the car has just died in mid drive and we are in New Jersey, its getting dark and the traffic is whizzing by at an alarming rate of speed.

Oh this is why people have Triple A. Now I get it.

We try all the typical things that people who are not mechanics do. We turn the car off, we turn it back on, click, click.

We unplug the battery and replug it. click, click. Nothing.

Our mechanical skills seem to be seriously lacking.

We unscrew the gas cap and rescrew it. My idea really. Shockingly it doesnt work.

Then we do the sit there and wonder idea. Should we call someone? We are still 2 hours away from home. Hubby calls a friend. No answer. I call 411. Hey is there such a thing as Roadside Assistance? Lets not forget it is a Sunday night in New Jersey. Not the best place to be.

They connect me with a towing company, ok I guess this is better than standing here hoping that the car will magicly start.

The tow truck comes and hooks up Hubbys baby.

Have I mentioned that I just paid the last car payment about 30 days ago?

Yeah that is what I mean about the bad luck.

We all squeeze into the tow truck with the very large tow truck man. It was an extremely tight fit. We only took what we could carry. And that barely fit into the tow truck with us.

We head off into the night, riding atop this tow truck, joking because that is the only thing we know how to do in a crisis.

Hey there could there possibly be a train station near by because at this point this is our only way home?

Our friendly tow truck driver says, yeah NJ transit is just a few minutes from here.

WooHoo, this is our best luck so far.

We arrive in Shadyville, and he drops us off at the train station. Shady, really shady.Its 8:30 by this point, dark and we are somewhere in Perth Amboy.

I call my mom, hey dont panic but we are stuck in NJ. I text D1 and D2... Funny Story we are stuck in Perth Amboy, if we dissapear look for us in the scariest place we have been stuck in awhile. See picture above.

I say to D3 and D4, do you have your ipods, my laptop, the gps, all our cell phones, oh we forgot D4's 125 dollar calculator...

Mom... sshhhsshhh... we are in the ghetto and you are naming about 3000 dollars worth of electronics we have on our bodies... be quiet...

The train comes in about 25 minutes ... well how lucky are we?

We ask people who clearly do not speak English whether or not this train is headed for Newark.

They do the I dont understand you yes headshake.

We get on the train which is packed, not sure why, and head off to Penn Station. 1 hour to Penn and because we are so lucky the train from Penn Station to Ronkonkoma is leaving about 25 minutes after we get in.

We arrive in Ronkonkoma at 11:35pm and my dad is there to pick us up with my little doggie Clover.



We get home after midnight and start calculating what we left in the car and how we are gonna get the car back and what the cost will be and how hubby is getting to work..

suddenly all the joking stops...

and reality sets in...

and it sucks...

and that is why this was a bad week to give up crack... because i could have used some mind altering ben and jerrys and being on a diet right now just doesnt cut it...

Life for us is always about this kind of stuff... bad luck, crap all the time...

but it could have been worse and since we have an appointment at Sloan Kettering this week... I will take the car breaking down as the bad stuff this week... no more please... i dont think my diet will make it through.