Yesterday I was talking with my daughters. Jane had just finished 3 exams, 2 presentations and 2 group projects. She felt free after a long and difficult week. Michelle still had one more exam to go but couldn’t wait to come home. I told her I couldn’t wait to give her a hug.
They started the four and a half hour drive home this afternoon and expected to be back around 8 pm. We had made plans to meet at Joyee for dinner. Unfortunately there was an accident on the highway and so Michelle texted me to order something for them and bring it home. I got home from work around 6 pm and heard Joe on the phone with Michelle. The girls had a flat tire! Jane was giving rides to two male students from college and so Joe gave them instructions on how to install the emergency tire. To him it was simple and straightforward. We were on our way to Joyee when the phone rang again. The anti-theft nut got jammed and therefore they couldn’t unload the emergency tire. Throughout dinner, Joe was constantly on the phone with the girls, guiding them through the process. Jane called Allstate and they in turn contacted someone from a nearby garage to go and change the tire. When the technician found out that the kids didn’t have cash on them to pay for the service, he hung up on them.
Michelle was obviously annoyed by the whole thing. When I talked to Jane on the phone, she was still being her goofy self.
“How are you all handling the situation?” I asked.
“Mom, resources are scarce here and we are trying to survive.” She burst into laughter.
After dinner, Joe dropped me and Jake off at the house and went on his way to rescue our daughters and their friends. When I called him about an hour later, he said the kids were waiting for the tow truck and he was about half way there. I informed him that the Internet and my phone had stopped working. He asked me to unplug and then plug in the modem, and we also tried a few other things, but the system was dead solid. Just as I was ready to play a card game with Jake, I noticed the muddy footprints all over my shiny tiled floor. My eyes turned to the usual suspect Joey. Our Maltese’s fur coat was cover with mud. So I had to get up and give him a bath. Troubles do seem to come in threes.
After putting the house and Joey back in order, I decided to give Comcast a call. The technician was asking me all kinds of questions such as if we had one modem or two.
“Look, my husband is a computer scientist. So the network system can be complicated. But I know nothing about it because I don’t have to. He is on his way to get our daughters home from Indianan because they had car trouble. When the kids have car problems, they don’t call me. They call their dad”. I replied.
The guy laughed and assured me that he’d be able to make it work in no time. “I am sure there are things you are very good at that he can’t do.”
“You get that right!”
Five minutes later everything was back to normal. I told the technician that he was a miracle worker, which made him very happy.
Life does get wonky sometimes. But compared to the excruciating agony and pain the families of Flight MH370 passengers have been going through in the past week, our problems are insignificant. I know my babies are coming home and I am staying up to give each of them a big hug!