Wow. Yesterday was a crazy day. Jeff really needed to get caught up in his workshop, so we decided not to set up at market. But the farmer’s market was calling me. We had trades there and I wanted to get our goodies for the week, plus pick up our market check and run some errands in town. Yeah, it was an hour drive, but we typically go to town only once a week, so I had plenty of errands to justify the trip. (Plus I was feeling like a fruit fanatic and just couldn’t stop thinking about those raspberries from the week before! I needed some bad.) So Bracken and I left early so we could get to farmer’s market while they still had plenty to choose from and get back home earlier in the day. After we took off, I had a feeling I was forgetting something. A-ha! I had forgotten the Ergo carrier, which is essential to have while running errands (Bracken’s all snug against me and I have my hands free.) Luckily I remembered when I was only a few miles away, so I turned back around. For some reason, when I got home, I felt a mixture of reluctance to leave and a strong urge to ask Jeff to come. But my brain said ‘he has a lot of work to do in his shop!’ So I didn’t ask. Bracken and I left again.
We got a great parking spot at farmer’s market, loaded up our basket with goodness, did what we needed to do around market, then ran our other errands. Everything was flowing smoothly. It was early afternoon, we were ready to head home, and I was so excited to surprise Jeff with all the good food.
We were headed out of town, which is always a relief to me. I appreciate the gifts that town offers, but I find it over-stimulating and overwhelming, and really look forward to returning to the quiet country, which suits me much better. Out of the blue Bracken started crying and acting like he needed to go potty. I had just taken him potty, but I thought okay, I’ll take him again. I had a strong feeling to pull over and I remembered a pull-out ahead, but a car was right behind me going really fast and I hadn’t turned on my turn indicator yet, so I decided to wait till the next pull-out. (He could have gone in his diaper and that would have been fine, but I just had a strong feeling I needed to pull over.) Traffic slowed down because we were getting close to Oregon Country Fair.
Then a bunch of things happened all at once. I smelled something funny. Something that I thought was smoke (turns out it was steam) was pouring out from underneath the hood. And the truck started chuggging and came to a stop, as I quickly turned it off because of what I saw from the hood. Luckily, traffic was almost to a standstill, so no one rammed us from behind. I was shocked.
Someone pulled over to help us (Angel #1). I got Bracken out of the truck, I was afraid that the truck might start on fire or something. The people who pulled over let us borrow their cell phone. I called Jeff. My nervous system was stressed. I was in the middle of a mess and I felt overwhelmed and afraid. He wished he was with me as much as I wished he was. He asked about what had happened with the truck. I had no idea. He called a tow truck to come get me. Our insurance said it was all covered and help was on the way. He said “I had a feeling I should have gone with you today.”
After letting me borrow their cell phone, they helped me push the truck out of the way as much as we could. We were along water and there was virtually no shoulder, so we were definitely blocking the road. People were driving around us in an irritated fashion. The people who had helped took off for Country Fair. Jeff had told me that the tow truck would be there in about an hour. So there I was, standing on the side of the road, holding Bracken in the Ergo, in the very hot sun, causing a traffic jam along the narrowest part of a busy highway that was much (much!) busier than usual due to the fair. I was afraid to turn the truck on to try to move it over any more. Plus, there wasn’t much more I could move over anyway. I had a tired and hungry baby. I felt very alone. I realized how much I relied on Jeff during situations like that. Situations that were foreign to me. (Honestly, most things about vehicles are foreign to me.) It made me appreciate him even more.
By that point, I wasn’t afraid of the truck starting on fire, so I got inside and was nursing Bracken. Then I saw a truck pull behind us that said ‘ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation)(Something) Response.’ A man got out (Angel #2) and came over to the truck. He asked me about what happened. He told me he was going to get my truck out of the way. For some reason, his presence had an immediate calming effect on me. I put Bracken back in the car seat. He told me to put it in neutral. Then he gently pushed our truck with his, going about 10 mph, for a long ways, until we reached a pull-out. While our truck was being pushed, I felt that I was surrounded by Angels, gently moving Bracken and I to safety. I didn’t feel alone anymore. I knew we were going to be okay. The man offered his cell phone and I called Jeff to let him know that we were no longer in the way of the road and he was relieved. Then the man asked if we had water and everything we needed, and he was on his way.
So, I took Bracken out of his car seat and put him in the pack again. We were in a pull-out right next to the lake, so even though it was a really hot day, we had a soothing breeze coming off the water. I stood between our truck and the lake. We were safely off the road. I was close enough to watch all the people on the nearby dock fishing. I rocked back and forth on my feet with Bracken in the pack, which provided a nice private space for him to nurse. I watched the water. I rocked and rocked, swaying back and forth. My nervous system still felt a little anxious and I still felt a little afraid, but being on my feet and the slow repetitive moving was helping. Something about rocking is soothing. Soon Bracken was asleep.
I struck me as ironic that I had felt too busy to go to Country Fair this year and then my car broke drown and I was stuck waiting (near the fair.)
Then the tow truck passed by, but quickly turned around. A man stepped out.(Angel #3.) He helped me get Bracken’s car seat set up in the tow truck. I was able to move Bracken into it and he stayed asleep (and slept the whole ride home.)
On the drive, I felt so grateful for the three angels that had helped me that day. When we got home, I had never been so happy and relieved to be there!
Unfortunately, our insurance then said it was only covered for 15 miles. Ugh! But we were home.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Jeff checked out the truck. It looked like a belt broke, (talking in a foreign language here) which caused it to overheat. (Hopefully we’ll be up and running again soon.)
It was a day where I felt out of my comfort zone. But I learned a lot.
And I had help along the way, reminding me that I am never alone.