Hobbled and Sleepless

Our car repair garage isn't a fully-fledged garage that can do repairs all sorts, but they change my tires and do oil changes, spark plugs and little things. 

It's only a mile or so away, so it's very handy for me. On the other hand, my dadblasted foot has made it a problematic mile in the past few years, so I must make arrangements to get back and forth if it becomes necessary to leave o car for a long time.

I don't mind waiting while they do a small job, but without going into unnecessary details, let me tell you that this appointment would require a full day, and I would, therefore, have to leave the car and return for it at the end of the day.

My solution was to call on Good Ole Bob who has helped me out this way before and would be willing to do it again.

All set, then . . . that is until Bob managed to get into an accident and wreck his car, and I had to devise a new plan.

Shauna could take me back to pick the car up at day's end, but I might have to walk home first. Surely, I could drag my foot that far if need be. I'd rather not, and certainly wouldn't want to do it twice in one day. If needs must, however, surely I could make it once.

Then, I devised a strategy for getting the garage folk to drive back home. I would walk in with my cane, look pathetic, and beg for help. 

It worked. They took me home. Shauna drove me back at day's end. 

Solved.

Not solved.

They were able to work their way through my list but decided that I required new spark plugs. Not being a full repair centre, they would have to bring them in. There was also another item on my list – restoring the covers of my headlights that had become very clouded. That treatment would take a full day. 

We made arrangements, and my back and forth plans would remain the same – get them to drive me home and get Shauna to get me back there.

However, wen the day dawned, it didn't really dawn. The treatment to restore the clouded light-covers required the car to sit in sunlight for quite a duration, and there was little sun to be seen on that day.

It would only take an hour or so to do the spark plugs so I just waited there. We looked at the forecast for a sunny day for the headlight treatment, but it wasn't promising. 

But when I awoke the next day – yesterday – I saw sun. I checked the forecast, and it looked like there would be enough sun all day to do the treatment. I took the car in. They drove me home. I texted Shauna for a ride back after work. Darn! She couldn't get me there before closing time.

What now?

Well, I decided that I would walk down for the pickup.

As the day progressed, I had second thoughts. What if I got halfway there and found that the pain was too bad to continue? But since I'd be halfway there, I would be stuck in no-man's-land as it were.

I called the garage, asked them to leave the car out for me to pick up after closing hour. Shauna would get me there late. I'd get the car and return the next day to settle the account.

And here I am. It is the next day but very early, for as has been typical of late, I only got 4 hours of sleep before beginning to toss and turn. As I have written recently, sometimes moving over to the recliner helps, so I made the move at 2:30. Last night the move didn't help; restlessness plus cramps got me up an hour later.

It's 5:30 now. I have totally rewritten my first draft into what you have read above, but I can't tell if it makes any sense, for I am done. I am sure that it must be an unsatisfactory, plodding pile of banality, but it is what it is, and I can hardly think, never mind rewrite it one more time. 

I may get back to you tomorrow, bit now I must look for toothpicks to hold my eyelids open – for I know that I won't be going back to sleep for quite awhile yet.