Well, At Least It Counted As Exercise

Traumatic experience this morning.

Took Emily to ballet. Left her there and went to Asda carpark, five minutes away in the car, not to shop but just to read in peace in the car. I had to pick Emily up at 1.15. At 1pm I started the car, or at least attempted to. Nothing. Lots of warning lights, zilch effort from the engine, loud beeping noise. Turn key back off and try again. Repeat a few times. Look at clock. Realise that yet again, as is my wont, I've left home with no cash on me and no mobile phone. I never carry my wallet unless I think I'm going to spend something and I never, repeat never, carry a mobile phone unless we're away on holiday. That may well change from now on!!!

Eeek. In my, um, less than fit condition I know it's going to take me an awful lot longer than the remaining 12 minutes or so to walk to Emily's ballet place. Begin to panic. Rush into Asda and explain the situation to a kind lady there. She lets me use the phone to call home. No answer from our number. Speak loudly on answerphone hoping Jon's around somewhere and will hear. Nothing. Call my Mum and Dad's number. Nothing. I don't know by heart the number of anyone else who could help. I don't even know Jon's Dad's number, even though he lives in the same house as us (with separate phone). Frantically search in the kindly provided phone book to find the number for the Figure Factory where Emily is to tell them I'm going to be very late. Can't find it. They can't get directory enquiries from their phone. Rising panic. Now only have about 8 minutes to get there.

OK, nothing for it, have to leave and walk FAST. It's a hell of a lot further than it looks in the car and the last half a mile or so is up an *extremely* steep hill. Walk as fast as I can, head down, red faced, out of breath and in tears. Arrive VERY late (I think it was 20 minutes late in fact but since I didn't even have a watch on, who knows??) to find Emily deeply distressed, sobbing and being comforted by her teacher and a kind Mum who'd stayed behind with her. Very, very grateful to them. However, that still leaves us stranded there, a long way away from the car, with no money, no phone and since I'd left the car in such a panic, not even a coat for Emily who was shivering in her ballet leotard. The woman behind the bar is usually a total and absolute dragon, but there, you shouldn't judge people. She very kindly lent me her mobile to call home again. This time, Jon answered. Fifteen minutes later, Jon and my Dad arrive to pick us up. Back to Asda, find car. My Dad gets in car. Car starts immediately and looks very pleased with itself. I feel like dissolving into tears.

Spooky things. Jon was at at home all the time, but didn't hear our phone ring the first time because somehow it had been turned right down. My parents were at home all the time too, sat eating their lunch at the table with the phone on it. We can't explain why they didn't hear it. We don't know what was wrong with the car; best guess is that it was a hiccup in the immobiliser (which I didn't even know we had, so therefore didn't imagine that could be it and wouldn't have known how to disable it anyway even if I had known). Lots of horrible coincidences leading to all that trauma. Before we left home this morning, Emily came rushing out of the loo and said she'd had what she calls a vision. What she means by that is a voice in her head announcing something. She said it was "Do not abandon your normal pattern". At the time, we shrugged and thought nothing of it. Spooky thing number 304, however, was that I don't normally go to Asda. I normally just sit in the ballet car park and read and was going to do that today too until I decided otherwise on the spur of the moment. Had I stayed in the car park at ballet, it would of course have avoided most, if not all of the trauma.

Oh well. Jon and I are both following resolutions to use the exercise bike for at least 20 minutes a day, but I think my panicked trek all the way to ballet and up *that* hill must surely earn me some extra brownie points!