Katie and I had an appointment with Emily this morning. Okay, not a problem. Emily is our Goddess-sent therapist, and while the sessions aren’t always warm and fuzzy they always help somehow. On the way home, we stopped to get gas. I noticed that the left front tire was low, so I went to put air in it.
A little voice in my head had told me to pass up the Citgo for the next gas station, a Texaco. I didn’t listen. Stupid me. The air pump dingus was broken—it just let the rest of the air out of my tire and wouldn’t put air in it. The gas station owner assumed I was an incompetent woman or trying to cheat him out of his 50 cents and swaggered his 5’2″ self out to do it right, to find that it wasn’t me—it was his equipment. But he had no way to put more air in the tire, either—none at all. I try to be prepared, but I do not happen to have a tank of air or even a bicycle pump in my trunk.
So I limp up to the Texaco—no air pump. Go on up to the Exxon, which has NEVER seemed so far away. Put air in the tire. Put the little stem cover dingus back on. Started to check the pressure on the other tires—heard the hissing noise of air going out of the first tire. ARRGHHH!
Yes, I have a spare. And a jack. And I tried. I absolutely cannot get the damned nuts turned so that I can change the tire, because of my goddamned stupid permanently numb left hand that has no freakin’ grip strength and apparently never will again.
And the AAA membership has expired, and we can’t afford to renew it right now.
I finally filled the tire up yet again and managed to get home, although the tire was very nearly flat again by the time I got here.
sambear has had an absolutely HELLISH day at work. He’s going to have to leave early to come home anyway because R and G have psych appointments that he needs to attend. Now he’s going to have to leave even earlier so he can change the damned tire for me—NOT what he needed today. I feel like an absolutely incompetent waste of flesh right now.
