do. When we were given word that baby number 3 was soon to arrive, the
unthinkable became the inevitable. In September of that year, we welcomed a new
2005 Toyota Sienna to dwell amongst us. It was shiny, red, clean, scratch and
dent-free with only 11 miles on it.
Our little Christmas present named Emma arrived on Dec.21st....the whole reason
for this crossover so to speak.
Nine years later, the only thing about it that is still the same is that it is
still red.... Oh, and might I add, PAID FOR!
It still runs great in spite of scooter scratches from kids who didn't realize the
concept of permanent damage at the time, numerous tire replacements, a new
radiator, and maybe a few french fries under the seats. It has been featured on
Google maps on the corner of Sever and Tab Roberts roads in Lawrenceville, GA as
well as on the photo from that traffic violation when I made a left turn on red
in the intersection in Snellville, GA. I handed the photo along with my penalty to
woman at the bureau. She took my payment and handed the photo back to me and
informed me in a very friendly manner that I could keep it. I thought about how
it would make such great material for my scrapbook. Inevitably, minivans
sometimes make mistakes.
As my minivan has matured, so had Emma. Since it is hard to give all my kids the
individual attention I should be giving them, I have to set aside a special
weekend for each of them for one on one time. It was Emma's turn and she had
informed me she was ready to get her ears pierced.
We had the joy of spending this very special bonding time as she picked out her
earrings with feelings of excitement and a bit of anxiety. She toughed it out and
cleaned her ears 6 different times when she got home.
After frozen cookies and cream in the food court she decided she wanted to go to the
park. When we arrived at the park there was a large birthday party taking place
in the pavilion. There were about 100 guests, a DJ, bubbles blowing from a
bubble blower and a ginormous spread of decorative cake pops. I thought for sure
that Justin Bieber was going to show up at any moment. Since we weren't invited
we kept our distance and enjoyed the early fall temperature, blue skies and the
sun at less of an angle. After a nauseating attempt as an adult on the swings, I
decided to locate a bench close by. Emma joined me.
Of all of my children, I remember the sound of Emma's whimper the most. Out of the
5, I would have to say that she is the most discontent which carried through into
her early childhood years. Because of this, I had to work very had to teach her
to develop a strong sense of independence. She had to learn to solve her own
problems, help herself when she needed things, and do more for herself on her own .....
surprisingly, I succeeded. Since she doesn't need me as much, I miss her
sometimes. Our bonding time together suddenly became of much greater value.
As we were relishing in the great pleasure of the afternoon, a woman with a parrot
sitting on her shoulder was walking towards us. I was greatly hoping she would
stop at our bench to cap off this perfect afternoon. The birds name was Ms. Miles
and could have easily starred as a lead role in the movie "Rio." Ms Miles ruffled her
feathers for us, ate a peanut, and made wild bird noises. It was adorable. We
thought it was entertainment for the party but it wasn't, she was there simply to
enjoy the lovely weather as we were.
We decided it was time to go home after the perfect afternoon. However, we were
not prepared for what was to come next.
When it comes to backing out of parking lots, I am a bit obsessive about looking where
I am going. Today, on this particular occasion, maybe a little less so as I would
back into a Mercedes Benz. Not that there's ever a good time for a minivan to
make a mistake, but needless to say, my mood was quickly vanquished as the timing
was significantly off.
Though my car was more scratched up that the Mercedes, the scratches on my car
would just simply blend in to the ones that already existed. Though minimal, I'm
sure the owner of the Benz would notice his. Many things ran through my mind.
With impending medical bills, I couldn't face a lawsuit. Cameras would catch me
if I left the scene and I would be arrested. Emma saw the whole thing. The
scratches wouldn't have been as bad if only it wasn't a Mercedes! Ohhh, life was so
much better 5 minutes ago!
Once I was able to calm down, the best thing for me to do was to just leave a note on
the windshield which was what I did. It read:
Hi,
I backed into your car
and left a few scratches.
I feel really bad about
it. Please feel free
to contact me if necessary.
Samantha
No one called.
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