Today is a perfect example of what I mean when I say I lead a charmed life. You would think that a day that featured freezing weather in Texas, a flat tire in the car, a dead motor in the backup vehicle AFTER I was a few miles away from the house, and being stranded in the parking lot of an elementary school in my PJs would be an example of Murphy’s Law and instead be seen as a pretty lame start to a morning. I’m here to say that it was a great morning.

First, the tire went flat on the Kia yesterday and I totally forgot to run out and get it fixed (cursed?). As Dawn was taking the truck to work this morning we realized that I would have no way to drive the kids to school (cursed?) – that would leave them having to stand in the freezing cold and wait for the bus 45 minutes earlier than we normally take off. The backup car – a ’95 Honda Civic with over 170,000 miles and a spotty record of dependability – was there and I cranked it to see if I could save them the bus stop wait. It cranked up (charmed), but didn’t sound that great and I decided to give it a shot. After dropping off Kenzie, I swung by the boy’s school and they began their morning in warmth – charmed life so far.

Before I was 20 yards away, the Honda died (cursed?). Sure, it would crank easily, but died instantly. Not only was it dead, but there were at least 40 cars lined up behind me on the single-lane, one-way loop setup for dropoff (cursed?). It just so happened, that it died at the one spot that preceded a slight downhill slope into the nearby parking lot (charmed). Usually, the cut back to the lot is jammed with cars, but for some reason there was a perfect gap that allowed me to jump out in my PJs, push it to get it rolling, and spin into a safe spot (charmed).

I then used my Blackberry for a web search on Wimberley auto shops – I found three (charmed). I called the first two with no answer (cursed?). When I called the third they said they don’t work on foreign cars (cursed?) but gave me the number of the only tow truck in town (charmed). I called the towing place and he said he couldn’t be out until afternoon because he was the only one in the office (cursed?). When prompted he gave me the name of another service (charmed) who I called and caught him in his truck just a couple miles away and he agreed to come right over (charmed).

Steve with Good Ol’ Boys Auto Recycling & Wrecker Service not only showed up in a jiffy, but is a really decent guy that runs a couple other companies as well (charmed). In fact, we intend to get together to talk about doing some other business after the holidays. Steve loaded me up and drove me and the Honda back home.

I relayed the story of the flat on the Kia during the drive so Steve popped out his battery operated air compressor and filled the tire in that while unloading the Honda (charmed).

The next task in my automotive morning was to drive the Kia to Discount Tire for the repair. The customer service rep at Discount was giving me options for a new tire in the event that it wasn’t repairable (cursed?). I told him that I wanted to wait and see what the verdict on the tire was first. Sure enough, the tech came in and said, “There was a nail in the tire. It is all fixed – no charge.”

So you tell me? Was it a cursed morning or a charmed life? I have to go with charmed – so many things happened just exactly how they needed to keep me from real trouble. Sure, I could feel bad about being stuck in the freezing cold in my PJs, but I met some nice people – shared a little holiday cheer – got a good laugh along the way – and all with no real expense or headache. Plus, it made for a great story!