Check Engine

 

Sara and I left the house around 9:45 this morning and headed to Kwik Kar to have a little tune-up done on my car. I knew it needed an oil change, and I had a hunch that it would need something else, too, just because that usually seems to be the case. When the mechanic had me peek under the hood with him while he explained my car's needs, I simply nodded, told him to go ahead with his plans, and agreed to the hour-and-a-half wait time. I'd packed plenty of snacks for that length of time, and Kwik Kar's kid's area was full of fun toys. Sara enjoyed the novelty of the new play spot for quite some time, but about two hours into our hour-and-a-half wait (yes, you read that correctly), she was about as antsy as they come.

Lacking anything better to do, Sara spotted my purse and started digging. I was thrilled by the amount of time that passed as Sara happily hunted through my belongings. She found a variety of things, including a shopping list (which we didn't get to today because we left Kwik Kar 3+ hours after we'd arrived, and by then we were WAY overdue for lunch and nap), some gum, my phone, and a bottle of Excedrin, which proved to be the biggest treasure of them all. She shook that bottle for a good long time. Child-proof caps were created for a reason.

By the time we got home around 1:45, we were both practically in hysterics.  I had a killer headache, and Sara had sleepy eyes and an empty belly.  To make matters worse, I noticed as we were pulling into the driveway that my "check engine" light is still bright orange on the dash (I should've noticed it right away, but it's been on for so long that it blends in with the gadgets that are supposed there).  Had I thought we could manage, I would've turned around right then to go back to Kwik Kar and have the mechanic fix the glitch, but there was just no way.  It'll have to wait until my next day off.  By then, I'll probably need another three hours worth of repairs!