Windshield Wiper Words of Wisdom

Remember when I said that it seems like something epic happens every weekend around here? Well, this weekend was no exception. It started out like every other weekend. We vowed to move the hot wire so the horses could get new grazing. We were going to celebrate our anniversary with a night out, dinner and a movie. We were going to trim hooves, take a ride, get a new phone because my husband's is fried, go to the library, go shopping, and maybe even clean! We also have to go worm and give shots to a colt we sold to my uncle (but we still take care of his vet and farrier care) Then, I found out that my mother and I had to make a cake for my aunt's 70th birthday Sunday, and there was a dinner Saturday night. Sounds busy for two days right? Well, our weekends are 4 days long thanks to the 4 on 4 off night shift my husband works.

Friday was great. We ate Mexican food and listened to a Mariachi Band while we ate. Then, we went to the drive through and watched the new Transformer's movie and Star Trek. The Transformer's was kind of disappointing. The plot kind of stunk and the language was bad. The Star Trek movie was surprisingly good. We aren't die hard Trekkies, but it wasn't a bad double feature at all. Then, we received a text message that my husband's mother was going to be in town Sunday and wanted to see the kids. Alright, one more thing on the list.

Saturday started off OK. The lady that wanted our last kitten we had been socializing had to cancel that morning and reschedule for Sunday because of a health emergency of a friend. We had the cake made and were eating lunch. Then we got the call. You know, the call that says your weekend just went to hell. My mother-in-law's father had just passed away. To make an extremely long story worthy of a best selling novel short, she's actually my step mother-in-law, but she has earned her place as a a blood relative in my book. We love her to death.

So, the decision was made. We were driving 400 miles to Paris, TX so we could at least be there for the viewing. The funeral was Tuesday morning, and my husband had to be back at work that evening so we would have to drive back Monday night. Two loads of laundry, one grocery store trip for diapers, a vehicle swap with my parents (an expedition is more comfy for 5 than a trail blazer), a frantic packing instruction, and one million instructions for pet care later, we were on our way.

Why is it, that when you are in a hurry to get somewhere, it rains? Why is it that your windshield wipers work.. until it rains? Here in West Texas, having your windshield wipers crack out is a common occurrence. It's so dry and windy here, they just don't last that long. I guarantee you that if you did a survey, over half the cars here would have windshield wipers that didn't work well enough to pass inspection. Rubber just doesn't stand a chance around here.

Our trip began with a 3 hour drive through pouring rain with semi-working windshield wipers (and really crappy visibility). Then we got pulled over for doing a whopping 6 miles over the speed limit and then we found out that the registration had been expired since April. Apparently, this newbie felt sorry for my husband who had a wife and 3 small children in the back of a car, in the middle of the night, with another 5 hours left to go to get to a funeral. He let us off with a warning to slow down and get our car registered. Yep. GREAT trip. Good thing the kids slept most of the way.

Long, sad, funeral type story short, we had a very short visit but they in-laws both thanked us for coming on such short notice. It was the very first time my mother-in-law and my grandfather-in-law had seen the baby, so I believe they were happy. Driving home.. more rain, more bad windshield wipers.

And, we're back to now. The hot wire is still where it was. The horses feet look terrible. They haven't been ridden. My husband's phone is still fried. There are no library books. My house is a wreck. The colt is still unvaccinated. I missed my aunt's 70th birthday and the kids didn't see their Nana. But... we were there in a time of need. Thus is life. Moral of the story? Always check the damn windshield wipers before you take a trip!