road trip

We went to Monterey last weekend. I guess I never realized how far it was when I agreed to go to the bike festival with Kenny for a weekend. I was so tired from that long drive home. Kenny had to stick around to take down the tent/trailer etc. He didn't get back until 3 a.m.-- so I am very glad I didn't stick around to wait for him. Still... it was a tough drive.

I forget how difficult driving by myself with two children can be. The first challenge came within the first few hours. Amelia had fallen asleep (boy did she need it) and had been asleep for just under two hours. Jackson had to go to the bathroom. Hmmm.... now what? Obviously, the potty break can't be ignored. Jackson is too little to send in by himself and of course I can't leave Amelia in the car. So the sacrifice was Amelia's nap.

I filled up on gas to limit the number of stops. After Jackson's potty break (and Mommy's), both kids wanted a snack. I was sitting in the car dealing with the snack while the gas was pumping. Amelia was being very "two" and demanding her " 'ogurt heezer" (yogurt squeezer). I had to help them both push the yogurt to the top. She was making her usual mess. I needed to wipe everything up with a baby wipe and throw it all in the trash. I saw a trash can across the parking lot, so I put the car in gear and drove toward it. BANG... I looked back and I was DRAGGING THE GAS NOZZLE BEHIND ME!!!!!! Holy Crap! I had never done that before and panic started welling to the surface.

A very nice couple saw the whole thing. The lady said, "I did that a month ago, don't worry about it." Her husband said that it is break-away as a safety feature. He said it just snaps back on. As he tried to put it back, he got gas all over him. OY! I felt so bad. I actually started to cry (add lack of sleep, frustration with cranky kids, the idea of 6 more hours of driving and embarrassment---- there was no way the tears weren't coming). The guy went into the gas station to let them know what happened. I pulled over to the other side of the parking lot to sit for a minute. I was a bit shaky.

When I called Kenny to tell him what happened, I was relieved to hear that he had done the same thing! He told me that he did it in front of a bunch of construction workers who laughed at him. He was driving our old Z4 (the convertible BMW) so it made it that much worse. Why is it that someone else's humiliation made me feel better? I guess I was happy that I was in good company.