Our oldest called this morning, just to let us know his car had died while he was driving along a Dallas freeway and he was trying to figure out exactly what he should do next. Through a "comedy" of errors, he locked his keys inside of it before he had a chance to push it to the side of the road.
Now, I'll be the first to admit it - I'm a worrier, a worst-case-scenario kind of person. With a vivid imagination. So, immediately, an image of my son and his car getting crushed to smithereens by an oncoming vehicle as he's trying to push it off the road popped into my head. It made me grateful he locked the keys in the car! But I could still "see" a car speeding up the highway, hitting Tommy's dead car, and sending it flying into him where he stands on the side of the road, trying to figure out what to do.
It's such a helpless feeling...being miles and miles and hours and hours away from your son, imagining him in imminent danger, yet there's nothing you can do except bite your nails and pray.
So I prayed, asking God to send every available angel he had to Tommy (and I know he's got a LOT), to stand around him and his car, protecting them from the aforementioned smashing. Right away, the image in my head of Tommy and his car included a barricade of angels, and I felt much better.
The angels did their job - he's safe at home now. His car was towed to the driveway without costing him a fortune. We've been telling Tommy he should bite the bullet and buy a new car, now that he has graduated and has a job, but Mr. Frugal wanted to squeeze a few more miles out of this one.
Suffice it to say, he'll be spending the rest of today car shopping.
Tom (the wonderful dad and mechanic) has rearranged his weekend plans to include a trip to Dallas tonight, probably hauling a trailer with his truck to bring Tommy's dead Neon home (to fix it up for Daniel or Kendall, alas), and perhaps carting his little Capris up there in case Tommy needs it before he can get a replacement. Before he goes, he has to repair some little things on his truck and try to get it inspected. Fortunately, he came across some brand new tires for it, dirt cheap, on Craig's List and just put them on this week. However, he won't have time to fix the "loose" steering wheel (that doesn't sound good, does it?) so I'll be praying for those angels to travel with him tonight, to replace the image I have of him broken down and stranded (or worse) on I-35 between here and Dallas.
In other family news...
...Daniel's going with me tonight to see the latest silly movie, "Role Models." He's needs a break. He's trying to deal with the conflicting emotions of being grateful that he has a job, and growing to resent it, wishing he had some time off. Surprisingly, given the current economic situation, his employer is short-handed.
...Kendall hasn't received an official acceptance letter from UT, but she did get an "assurance" of acceptance...so now she can concentrate on scholarship applications and finding a job (yes, she picked up an application from Daniel's employer but hasn't turned it in yet...if Tom takes his Capris to Tommy, then we won't have an extra vehicle for her to drive...there's always a glitch ...)
Christmas is coming, so it's time for photos from Christmases past. Here's one of my favorites - me and Kendall, her first Christmas 1991...look at those big, blue eyes...
