As I mentioned yesterday, I was away for a couple of days. A kid and I rocked some hospital time and finally were discharged in the late afternoon on Wednesday. Because life doesn’t stop when a kid goes to the hospital, we took a detour on the way home to pick up formula. It was BUSY in there! WOW! But it was nice to be back in civilization in a way, so we didn’t rush. Upon walked back to the van, I started the engine, unlocked everything, and opened both the side door and the hatch with the key fob. Then I set the keys down and got to work getting the baby tucked and warm inside, the heat turned on, and then our formula and other items into the back of the van. I closed the hatch and ran the cart back to where it came from.
I bet you already know where this is going.
I came back to the can, and lo and behold, the van was locked. Every single door. I did two laps.
Baby was warm inside, but growing concerned quite quickly.
I was outside, without a jacket, unable to run back inside for obvious reasons.
It felt like a movie. I didn’t care for it.
Thank the Lord I had my phone! Not really knowing where to start, I called Brady. It was a three second conversation where we decided to get CAA, and he went to call them on my behalf. I did laps around the van, trying to peek in all the windows and keep the baby happy and entertained, but morale was dipping for sure :/ I texted Brady five minutes later and he said he couldn’t get through. I started googling “vehicle locksmith” because 🤷🏼♀️ I didn’t have any clue what to do. But Brady texted me maybe two minutes later to tell me Brads Towing was on its way. I replied by asking if someone was actually on their way on their way, or just that they’d send someone. Because those were different. But he said they had a driver in the area who was heading right over. Thank GOODNESS!!!!
Naturally, at this point, the van automatically switched off. Baby didn’t care for the vibe and flipflopped between crying and sleeping. It sucked. But I waited so few minutes before I got a phone call from a random number that I immediately assumed was Brads Towing. I answered, and the chipper guy on the other end just said “Hey hows it going?” I paused and somewhat sarcastically said I was doing great! He laughed and told me who he was and where he was. I waved like a fool from my aisle of vehicles and told him I had pink hair. He spotted me pretty easily and was pulled up beside me so fast. He was SO efficient and also SO friendly. Like, being a tow truck driver isn’t a glamorous job but he was SO pleasant and friendly. I really felt at ease. He got me into my van in less than a minute and told me to get right in and warm up. And that I did. Baby was asleep, thankfully, and extra thankfully, the van was nice and warm from the initial drive to Walmart, so baby was TOTALLY fine and warm.
The tow truck guy kept having these little chuckles at my expense but it was so comfortable and I was already warming up a bit. My mouth was, however, absolutely frozen so I had a lisp in the moment, lol! Man. It was COLD. So he came to me with the bill and it was $63. Which is WAY less than I expected. He told me there was a tip option but that I should feel free to skip it. His exact words were “There is no pressure, it is perfectly fine to skip it.” And let me tell you, that is a quick way to get a tip. I vastly prefer to tip for exceptional service rather than just expectation, so this was a great opportunity 🙂 Frankly, he could’ve put just about any number out there and I’d have paid it, I was SO grateful!
I made it home later than expected, yet the whole ordeal was a lot shorter than I expected it to be, and baby was no worse for wear from the delay in getting back home. It was not my favorite trip home from the hospital, but I was still VERY glad we got there without hypothermia or any deep trauma. Just a bit of a hassle and cold hands.
Beware a fritzy key fob that sometimes has a mind of its own. Super sucks to be on the receiving end of its shenanigans. It has earned itself some time in solitary confinement until it can get new innards. Hopefully it learns from this. Bit of a dick, aren’t you, prehistoric key fob? 😒