I cannot even...

I had an appointment today that i was heartily dreading. It was at 1, about an hours drive.

I was so anxious about it that I was wide awake at 4 am. I tried to fall back asleep, but I was so filled with 'fret' that it was not going to happen for me. I finally just got up and made my coffee and grabbed a package of BelVitas. I sat in the dark drinking coffee and reading blogs. 

It helped. 

A little. 

Tim got up. He had a bunch of stuff on his agenda, so I was on my own. 

I tried to comfort myself by going on a tear around the house. Scrubbed the bathroom, folded laundry, vacuumed, unloaded the dishwasher, tended to plants, cleaned the cat box, stuff like that. I made up my mind to leave at 11:30. I needed gas, and I was waiting to get it in Titusville. It is usually 20 cents  gallon cheaper and it was on the way, so it made sense.

So very methodically I set about getting set to go.

Shower (check)

Dress with great care (check)

Make up (check)

Hair (check)

(Did you ever notice that ticking boxes is a great distraction from thinking about things you'd druther not think about?)

Teeth (check)

Shoes (check)

Purse (check)

Raincoat (check)

Phone for directions since I did not know the area

(Check)

Full charge (Check)

Resolutely, I headed out the door and got myself on the road. When I got to Titusville, I was surprised to see that gas had gone up 20 cents over night. I decided to see what it was priced at on the way.

I had absolutely no idea how much I was going to regret this. The first thing I discovered is that there were no gas stations on my way.

Not to worry though. I knew I had enough gas to get me where I was going. I also knew that there were plenty of gas stations there. No worries. So I made my way through the heavy rain, trying to enjoy the Amish countryside.

I was on 'E' when I pulled into town. I had planned well enough that I had plenty of time for a fill up. I pulled into the first station I came to. I grabbed my wallet and it was then that I began to stress big time. My debit card was not in my wallet. I knew instantly where it was: at home on the table. I had been trying to renew the car registration on line. It would not accept our the card we use for online. I thought try my debit card. That did not work either. I brought the computer out to Tim to see if he could figure out where I was messing up. After trying it, he said, 'Never mind. I will just do it in person at the DMV. 

So much for convenience!

I logged off the website AND I NEVER WENT BACK TO GET MY DEBIT CARD! Now I was an hour from home, driving on E, and I still had my appointment. I was just sick. I got to where I was going, tried to call Tim from the parking lot. 

Did he answer his phone? No he did not.

Was his voice mail full? Yes it was.

There was nothing to do but walk into that appointment. I explained what I had done. She assured me it was fine. They took credit cards over the phone, so when I managed to get hold of Tim, I would be all set. She was so easy going about it. I was a little dumbfounded. 

Long story short. I survived my appointment. In the billing office. I did manage to get ahold of Tim. He read me the card information and I handed it to the billing person. I then began to explain about my gas situation. Did he know where a bank branch was? I had all my ID. 

 

The clerk interrupted. 'Don't worry about that. We got you a $20 gas card from the station across the street.'

I was flabbergasted. Tim was trying to talk and I was staring at the clerk, and I am embarrassed to say that after the whole stress filled day. I actually got teary. 

'Oh gees. You don't have to do that...'

She laughed. 'You have paid us enough that we can afford a gas card!' 

True, but...

In the end, I got home frazzled, but in one piece. Grateful, too.

 In all the hubbub I had skipped lunch. I knew I would be late getting back, so I had planned an easy supper. I split a loaf of Italian bread while sautéing onions, peppers, mushrooms, and some of the good sausage we made with Levi and Mattie and the kids. I spread the bread with spaghetti sauce, topped it with the meat and vegetables and sprinkled it with mozzarella cheese. 

Our pizzas were just coming out of the oven when Tim walked in the door from his day. 'Smells good! I didn't eat lunch today! I am starving.' 

So we sat down and ate.

All's well that ends well.