Friday, October 24, 2008

A day in the "big" city

Today the children and I went to Paducah to see a performance of Seussical at the Carson Center. Just before exiting the interstate I heard a loud "thump" followed by a sort of clicking sound that didn't stop as long as the van was in motion. I pulled off the exit and got out and checked in the back of the van- I thought maybe the stroller had fallen over and that was causing the noise. I didn't see anything so I drove on to the Carson Center. When I got there I decided to check further so I got down and looked underneath the van and found the inside sidewall of our rear driver's side tire had failed. Tread was missing and there was a piece hanging off, thus the noise. I called Tim who offered to come help, but really needed to work. I was unsure about what to do, but my friend Deborah who was at the play with her kids was willing to help me out. She travelled with me to Walmart, watched my kids-and hers- while I checked the van in, took us all to Hobby Lobby while they were replacing the tires, took us back to pick up the van, and watched kids again while I paid. Had she not been such a good friend I would have spent two hours wandering around Walmart with four kids. I am very thankful for her tonight!

After the van saga we all went to Bob Evans. It was Carter's reward for learning to ride his bike without training wheels. The really cool thing was that part of the cast of Seussical came in. The kids got to talk with them and learn a little about the show.

Then we did the rest of our "big city" business- for you non-small town people this means going to places we don't have in Murray and getting things we would otherwise have to order online or do without. By 4:30 pm I was over running around, the kids were ready to go home, and Katey had just had her second potty accident for the day (she is doing well, but today was a struggle- who knew the INSIDE of rubber rainboots could hold that much fluid?!!? Luckily that fact saved me from having to apologize to store employees in two locations).

It was a long day, but I am feeling blessed that we did not have an accident due to the tire failure. It was also good to be reminded how great it is to have good friends, how blessed we are to be able to afford to pay for sudden expenses, and how cool it is to homeschool so you can bump into people you just saw in a performance on a school field trip!

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