Friday the 13th

I wasn't superstitious, until this past Friday. Here's the story of how I spent my Friday the 13th, 2006.

Scott and I were headed down to Bloomington to visit my family for the long weekend; he got out of class early, but I had a meeting, so we hit the road around 7pm. We were driving down the road when I hit a huge pothole (I was talking on the cell phone, it was dark, he was trying to tell me something; not a good set up to begin with) - the car started listing to the right and the steering wheel felt funny. I was cursing up a storm (bad Erin) and Scott was telling me it was prob no big deal, but to stop in one of the parking garages so he could check out of the rain and in some light.

I stopped about a half mile down the road on campus, we got out and discovered that my right front tire was flat! After calling my parents to let them know we'd be late, Scott and I took the dog and her crate out of the back, got the spare out, and finally found the jack. Scott jacked the car up and started to remove the tire, but I had forgotten to lock the parking brake (oops!!), so the car moved and he had to start over (after I locked the brake this time).

After some wrestling with the hubcap and the lugnuts, Scott had the flat off and the spare was on and ready to go shortly thereafter. We piled everything back in the car and headed back onto the road.

I stopped at the dorm to let Scott grab some stuff he had forgotten, and as I pulled out of the drive, I hit another pothole, felt the familiar vibration in the steering wheel, and pulled over - the spare was flat!! The second tire in less than an HOUR!

This time I called AAA - they sent a tow truck which actually arrived about 20 mins after the call and just as my cell phone battery died! Scott managed to steer my car onto the flatbed while I called my dad, even though he doesn't know where anything is in my car since he never drives it. The tow guy took my car back to my place where it would sit until early Saturday morning.

After a short night in the apartment, I called the tire place across the street and Scott and I carted the flat across the street on foot. It turns out the rim was dented and as soon as it was reshaped and air added to the tire, we were good to go - they didn't even charge me for the repair!

***

I've decided that this was a test for Scott and I - if we could deal with all that on a dark, wet, cold, snowy/slushy night we should be set for a lot of the stuff we'll run into down the road I guess. We did get a bit sharp with each other, especially about me having him get the car on the truck instead of letting him talk to my dad on the phone and me drive, but it was resolved fairly quickly and we were back on track again.

I'm thanking my lucky stars that Scott can be calm in this kind of situation - I was flipping out half the time. LOL

The trip to Bloomington went smoothly and the weekend was great, despite the crazy start to it. :)

I'm sorry I'm selfish...

So I'm finally back from break - not seeing Scott for almost 2 weeks was tough, but seeing him was all the more wonderful after that time spent apart; same goes for just a week away though, so I think I'll stick w/ the shorter span. ;)

One of my friends, Alex, who also happens to be an 'ex', stopped by tonight. I haven't had a chance to really talk to him in person in over a year, so it was nice to catch up. We talked a bit about my engagement and wedding thoughts before the convo took a turn toward an interesting discussion.

Somehow we got onto the subject of kids and when they might fit into my plans. Now as you may remember from another post, I want to wait a loooong time to have kids, probably about 8 to 10 years after I get married. The main reason for this is that I want to have fun 'just the two of us' for a while and because I'd rather be in my 30's when I become a mom from a career and resources point of view. Even when I do think of having children, the number is usually just one, maybe two at the most for sure. Kids can be fun, but I don't want to be completely engulfed by them, I need at least a little time to keep in touch with me and who I am.

Alex was shocked that I would want to wait until I was 30 - apparently that's 'old' in his eyes - and that I only want one or maybe two. He thinks that "2 or 3 years is enough" time to be just two people and that even after having a kid or several the dynamic between spouses can still be focused on each other (i.e. you don't have to really 'share' the spouse with kids).

We didn't really discuss this in detail, but it's gotten me thinking and I've come to the conclusion that I am selfish! I don't want to have to share Scott for a long while because I enjoy the freedom that comes from being 'just' two. Yes when a kid comes along we can still have our "us" time, but it will be less frequent and different - I always hear that people's lives change drastically after a kid or two, and while that might be good for some, I want to put it off for a while until I'm more ready for such a change and I've had time to enjoy having a great husband.

Is there something wrong with having an only child? I came out fine as far as I can tell and I loved having parents that didn't have to split their attentions or spend all their time running me or siblings to and fro. Yea I missed having playmates every once in a while, but not for long - I learned how to entertain myself well and had a who mini farm to explore afterall.

I don't feel like I was just put on this earth to create more beings. I'd like to think that I have another purpose and that I can leave my mark on the world in addition to raising a great addition to society eventually. An interesting thought to ponder at least.