Sunday, October 19, 2008

Trading Trucks

My truck needed 30k mile service. My payment plan includes a rental for two full days. Upon completion of the work I return the rental truck and pick up my Escape, this is how it goes...

Park rental Explorer truck one row from my Escape. It's windy outside. Pull out all necessary items from rental truck, ask Toddleator to help by carrying jackets. With armloads of accoutrement, dragging the car-seat I attempt to coerce Little Girl toward the other truck, asking her to stay close, PLEASE. She decides she would rather carry the car-seat with her little Bear. I re-ask her to carry the jackets to Our Car. She refuses, and takes off "NOooo!" randomly into parking lot. I drop everything immediately, catch her. Then hauling struggling Little Girl under one arm, another arm full of what papers and bags I could grab quickly, I head to Our Car and dump them all in the backseat. Return to drop-everything-spot to retrieve car-seat, little Bear, etc. Back to the Escape to install and organize. Fiona has taken over the driver seat, thoroughly enjoying "driving". While I install the car-seat, wind blowing door closed over and over on my butt, try to block with shoe, shoe falls off, door catches foot. Fiona, in front seat, opens driver's door. Grab Toddleator, haul from front seat to back seat, place her near window. Door blows shut behind me. Now I am stuffed crouching in front of car-seat, door closed and won't open because child door safety thing is engaged. Finagled-squirm-climb my way to front passenger seat exit vehicle and re-enter back seat to complete car-seat installation.
Big deep breath. Child-safety seat properly installed, now install child into seat---child that has decided she would rather sit in the "big seat"...after a short count (to 3) she concedes.

We finally did leave the Ford Dealer's parking lot and all the way home I listened to the Toddler's lament of, "Noooo, I don' want Our Car. I want rental caaaar."
Lovely.

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