Life has been SO busy lately! I am definitely not a traditional blogger who blogs every day... sorry!! I have so many stories I don't know where to start!! This past weekend was a wild adventure. Kheenan and I went on a road trip down to PA. We stopped in NYC on Friday to spend the night and visit "Auntie Diane." It was quite the treat to get so much alone time with Kheenan! I was even able to capture some pictures and video without a certain someone skootching into the frame :) Here's Kheenan in the stroller... he was the happiest boy looking at the NYC sky!
The next morning Kheenan and I left early to go to Philly where I was hosting a bridal shower for my friend Danni. (She's getting married in October - YAY!) . The shower went well and Kheenan was, for the most part, asleep and therefore pretty content. Here's a pic of the beautiful bride-to-be, me and guess who is under the blanket?:)
I left about 3:30 ish that day with the hopes of getting ahead of the tropical storm coming up the coast. Kheenan fell right to sleep as soon as we left Philly, but then 30 minutes later he woke up screaming. That was the beginning of the chaos. At this same point, the rain started really coming down. I've driven this route many times, but never have I seen the roads like this! I pulled over to nurse Kheenan, drove on, pulled over again and nursed again... each time I would get out of the car I would get completely soaked. Kheenan was miserable in the car seat. He was happy when I nursed him, but as soon as I got back on the road he would start crying again. I felt so bad for him because I couldn't even turn around to look at him or give him a toy. The roads were so bad and the NJ/NY drivers only made it worse. As I struggled to not hydroplane going at max 30 mph, big semi's passed me going at least 50 mph. After seeing SIX accidents on my journey, I knew that I needed to just make it back to Diane's to bunker down for the night. Clearly, I wasn't ahead of the storm... I was in the eye of the storm. With Kheenan screaming for more than 2 hours and the rain flooding the right lane of the highway I was ridiculously stressed out. I kept praying that God would help us to get home safely. I kept telling myself that Kheenan was fine and that even though he was sad my priority was to get him back safely. I wanted to hysterically cry, but I knew that if I let myself go I would surely get into an accident. There was simply no time for crying. And then, it happened. The battery light burst into my eyes. No, way. Last month, the battery had died while Sung and I had taken the kids to CT. We had replaced the battery and then, when we got home, I had taken the car into the shop to have it checked out just to be sure that nothing else was wrong. "Everything looks good," they said. OMG, what was I going to do. Last time, the car, literally just died on the road. The baby screaming, the rain, and now the battery. I thought I was going to throw up. Just keep driving, just keep driving I told myself. The GPS system which had been going in and out because of the storm (umm.. note to self, always have a plan B. In this case a map or directions on a piece of paper would have been helpful). The GPS had me going a way into the city that I hadn't gone before... into a one lane tunnel I went... I could tell on the GPS that there was water all around. I call Sung. I hate tunnels. At this moment, I just wanted another soul with me. Someone to say, "No worries. Everything is fine." I had forgotten my earpiece at home and I didn't dare take my hands off the wheel so I had Sung on speaker phone. With the baby screaming and me panicking I tried to explain what was going on. I could tell he didn't understand. "The battery! The battery!" I kept screaming. Then.. as if in slow motion... the wipers suddenly slow down..slowly they go up.. even more slowly they come back down. Then, they stop. My headlights go out.
"The car is going to die!! What do I do!" Sung just kept saying, "What? I can't understand you. I thought you were going to Diane's." I hang up the phone. No time to try to explain. I need to think for myself. Please God, please God.. let me make it through the tunnel. Like a mantra, I kept saying, "Please don't let the car stop. Please don't let the car stop." Amazingly, it didn't. Out of the tunnel and into the city. "Now what?" I thought. What do people in this city do when they break down? You can't just pull over. With the baby still screaming... the rain suddenly stopped. Thank you God! My wipers weren't working and it was obviously hard to see. Turn after turn. Right onto the ramp. Left onto the exit. Right onto the street. Left. Left. Right. OMG.. am I almost there??! With each turn I was so thankful to be a little bit closer to Diane's. It was now 7:30, 4 hours after I left Philly. A ride which should have taken no more than 2. Like a beacon I spot an open "hole in the wall" mechanic shop that's open. Without hesitation, I turn in. Please God, don't let this guy rip me off. Please let him be able to fix the car. Please let him be a good person. I get out of the car.. get the exhausted, screaming wreck of a baby out of the backseat and approach the mechanic. I tried not to look desperate, but I know I must have. I say, "It's the battery." He doesn't say a word. Just pops the hood and starts looking at things. I notice his hands. Greased, cracked. Someone who obviously works hard for a living. His blue coveralls seem to make me smile. I can't help but linger into memories of my dad when I was young.. of his greased hands...of his coveralls covered in black grease. "It's the alternator," he says. How can this be? I specifically had the alternator checked. I ask if he is sure. And he, unequivocally says, "Yes." How much? "Maybe $300, maybe $250." I try to keep from smiling. I thought for sure he would charge me 3 times as much. When could you do it? Remember, it's now Saturday night. "I'll come in tomorrow at 8 and get it done for you by 2." I am so blessed. I am SO incredibly blessed. Great! With Kheenan on my hip and the rain sprinkling down, I start to take out all of my things.. suitcase, stroller.. The mechanic walks up to me and says, "You drive me where you need to go and I'll take the car back here." This man. This man is an angel. He asks for my name and on a piece of paper with other names and numbers he simply writes, "KERRI MAXIMA" and my number. Even his writing reminds me of my dad. He charges the battery (it completely died only moments after I turned into the shop) and off we go. Kheenan is of course still screaming. The mechanic and I chat on the way and I find out that he has 3 little ones at home. The smell of oil, solvent, grease. This amazing sense of calmness, of peace comes over me as I continue to remember sweet moments with my dad. It's over now. Everything is okay. Every ONE is okay. We didn't get into an accident. The car will be fixed. We will have a safe place to stay the night. We get to Diane's, he hands me his business card (thank goodness or I wouldn't have known where the car was!) and we enter into her house where she and her sister have lit candles and dimmed the lights. (I had called on the way to let her know what was going on). We are so blessed. SO blessed. Sure enough, Andreas, as I came to know, fixed the car and though the part itself was $260 he still only charged me $300 and it was done on Sunday. The ride back to NH on Sunday night was not exactly fun. I had to pull over every 30 minutes to try and calm Kheenan down. He was miserable in his car seat. As I drove, I recalled the events of the weekend and thanked God for all that He had done. Things could have been incredibly bad. But instead, I ended up with a fixed car and some beautiful, forgotten memories of my dad. So, if ever you are in Long Island City, NY be sure to stop in at Andreas Auto Repair Shop to get your car fixed and maybe he'll spark some forgotten memories for you, too.
"The car is going to die!! What do I do!" Sung just kept saying, "What? I can't understand you. I thought you were going to Diane's." I hang up the phone. No time to try to explain. I need to think for myself. Please God, please God.. let me make it through the tunnel. Like a mantra, I kept saying, "Please don't let the car stop. Please don't let the car stop." Amazingly, it didn't. Out of the tunnel and into the city. "Now what?" I thought. What do people in this city do when they break down? You can't just pull over. With the baby still screaming... the rain suddenly stopped. Thank you God! My wipers weren't working and it was obviously hard to see. Turn after turn. Right onto the ramp. Left onto the exit. Right onto the street. Left. Left. Right. OMG.. am I almost there??! With each turn I was so thankful to be a little bit closer to Diane's. It was now 7:30, 4 hours after I left Philly. A ride which should have taken no more than 2. Like a beacon I spot an open "hole in the wall" mechanic shop that's open. Without hesitation, I turn in. Please God, don't let this guy rip me off. Please let him be able to fix the car. Please let him be a good person. I get out of the car.. get the exhausted, screaming wreck of a baby out of the backseat and approach the mechanic. I tried not to look desperate, but I know I must have. I say, "It's the battery." He doesn't say a word. Just pops the hood and starts looking at things. I notice his hands. Greased, cracked. Someone who obviously works hard for a living. His blue coveralls seem to make me smile. I can't help but linger into memories of my dad when I was young.. of his greased hands...of his coveralls covered in black grease. "It's the alternator," he says. How can this be? I specifically had the alternator checked. I ask if he is sure. And he, unequivocally says, "Yes." How much? "Maybe $300, maybe $250." I try to keep from smiling. I thought for sure he would charge me 3 times as much. When could you do it? Remember, it's now Saturday night. "I'll come in tomorrow at 8 and get it done for you by 2." I am so blessed. I am SO incredibly blessed. Great! With Kheenan on my hip and the rain sprinkling down, I start to take out all of my things.. suitcase, stroller.. The mechanic walks up to me and says, "You drive me where you need to go and I'll take the car back here." This man. This man is an angel. He asks for my name and on a piece of paper with other names and numbers he simply writes, "KERRI MAXIMA" and my number. Even his writing reminds me of my dad. He charges the battery (it completely died only moments after I turned into the shop) and off we go. Kheenan is of course still screaming. The mechanic and I chat on the way and I find out that he has 3 little ones at home. The smell of oil, solvent, grease. This amazing sense of calmness, of peace comes over me as I continue to remember sweet moments with my dad. It's over now. Everything is okay. Every ONE is okay. We didn't get into an accident. The car will be fixed. We will have a safe place to stay the night. We get to Diane's, he hands me his business card (thank goodness or I wouldn't have known where the car was!) and we enter into her house where she and her sister have lit candles and dimmed the lights. (I had called on the way to let her know what was going on). We are so blessed. SO blessed. Sure enough, Andreas, as I came to know, fixed the car and though the part itself was $260 he still only charged me $300 and it was done on Sunday. The ride back to NH on Sunday night was not exactly fun. I had to pull over every 30 minutes to try and calm Kheenan down. He was miserable in his car seat. As I drove, I recalled the events of the weekend and thanked God for all that He had done. Things could have been incredibly bad. But instead, I ended up with a fixed car and some beautiful, forgotten memories of my dad. So, if ever you are in Long Island City, NY be sure to stop in at Andreas Auto Repair Shop to get your car fixed and maybe he'll spark some forgotten memories for you, too.
A little video of Kheenan feeling much better after the trauma of the trip from Philly to NYC.
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