The late, lamented Sarah-mobile

My car died today. Literally. Died. As I was tearing along I-95 at 80mph, late for my acupuncture appointment. Well, OK, maybe not dead dead, as the engine still appeared to be running, but none of that power was actually going to the wheels. It started binging warning noises at me. The cute little display screen lit up with three warning signs I've never seen before. And I was slowing down dramatically quickly, even with my foot now pressed to the floor on the accelerator pedal.

But luckily, it was 10.30 on a Saturday morning, so traffic wasn't too heavy. I made my way over to the shoulder, after deciding that I really couldn't force it to the acupuncturists in that condition, and I stopped. I turned the engine off and back on. Still the same warning lights. I called the acu, and said I'd have to cancel. I looked at the car's owners manual. Every one of the three warning signs said "take to dealer" as its explanation, which did not exactly inspire confidence.

So, I got out of the car, positioned myself at a safe distance away as my dad always taught me (just in case anyone else decides to weave off the road and into the car), and called AAA for a tow. Of course, as soon as they answered, a cargo train rumbled past, because it just so happened that at that point of the road the train tracks run right alongside the interstate, so it was a tad hard to hear what was going on , between the 10 lanes of traffic and the train and all. But we managed it. She promised that a tow truck would be on its way, and asked if I wanted her to send the police out to wait with me, which I thought was very nice. I declined the police, seeing as it was a sunny Saturday morning. You'd have to be a pretty brazen murderer to try to kidnap someone from the side of I-95 in the middle of the day in a built-up area, I think.

The tow truck surprisingly arrived within 15 minutes of me calling, and the guy tried to do a hard sell of a local mechanics shop that he said would be able to fix the car much cheaper than the dealer I'd asked for a tow to. He gave me a leaflet to read while he loaded the car onto the truck. Which said that the service department closed at noon on Saturdays, so I didn't exactly see the point. Besides, I drive a hybrid car, and I'm pretty sure that the car just dying like that would involve the main battery or electric engine, and there's no way I'm entrusting that sort of repair to anyone but a dealership. But after much tutting (and no doubt seeing his commission flying out the window), the tow truck guy dropped me off at the dealership. Who promptly looked at the warning signals, and said "oooh, we need a hybrid-certified technician for this, and we don't have one in today, so it'll have to be Monday". But they offered me a loan car for free, so it seemed like a fair deal.

So there I was, within 50 minutes of breaking down, sitting at a car dealership in a shiny new loaner car, not exactly knowing what to do with the rest of my Saturday morning. The last time I broke down, I think it took an hour and a half for the tow truck to arrive, so I was pretty darn impressed at the efficiency! I called the acu and asked if they had any free spots. They didn't, but said they'd stay late for me and fit me in after the last scheduled patient of the morning. Awww, bless them. I heart the acu! I trundled off to Starbucks, had a chai and a sandwich, then ambled around the local green market actually having a fairly pleasant morning.

I just kept thinking, thank God it was today. Thank God. If it had to go in the next few weeks, thank God I wasn't driving in early morning rush hour traffic to an u/s, or worse, to the pre-op meeting with the RE or any other important IVF appointment. Thank God the car had its little crisis on a Saturday when I was not stressed out about work. Thank God it didn't die at night. Or when I'm in Miami for Thanksgiving and can't get back. That's definitely something to be thankful for, even if I am now going to be faced with an unexpected repair bill. I just hope they can fix it, as I really can't afford a new car right now! But thank God for cellphones, and tow trucks, and nice car dealers. What would I have done without them?