pride goeth before a falleth (very wordeth)

[tooholly]

My pride? Feeling rather smug that I wasn't the car pulled over to the side of the road in need of roadside service next to a pile of boulders that our hills spit up in the latest downpour. (Decades ago I had run over a boulder on the freeway and broke my axel which I refer to by my insurance company's label: an act of God.)

A little further up the road I see the posted sign that warns WATCH FOR FALLING ROCK. (What's the deal with mountains and hills throwing boulders onto the road as a result of a little rain? sheesh! )

Veering smartly, and again a tad smugly, to the left to avoid two pesky boulders on the right, I deftly run over a large boulder that looms suddenly in the dark!

The fall? A flat tire, in the middle of no where (I live in the rural desert), in the dark, in the middle of a fierce rainstorm with no cell phone! I had to pull my car over to the shoulder which sunk four inches into the mud as did I. I was splashed by every puddle as passersby sped past me making sure they hit the puddle at exactly the correct place to shower me the best. I was drenched from the knee down where my red riding hood rain jacket stopped.

But did I let this fall get me down?? Heck no! (I really didn't cry....just a few sniffles.) I told the story exaggeratedly with many adjectives (not explectives) to my class of third graders. It became a lesson in writing!

Every moment of life is a learning opportunity. The trick is to find it.

Two hundred dollars later I cringe at what today's learning opportunity will be - its pouring outside and I awoke at 2:30 a.m. without an ounce of pride in me - then again, its still early!

[stellar]

oh my!

[mommy of twins]

Double Oh my!

[Ph@t]

Did this really happen? Good grief! It also reminded me of something that happened to me... and I have to share real quick.... (I'm sorry I always have a friggin story!) ...

A couple of months ago I got a new job. I wanted to go see where I'd be working. So I'm going down this street divided by big trees and flowers and such. There's big buildings on each side and they all look alike and the only thing that distinguishes them from the other is the number 42, or 44 or whatever. So as I'm squinting to find the number of my building I swear to you I launched in the air like the Dukes of Friggin Hazard! I had no idea what had just happened. Dang, all I could come up with was an earthquake! Well, immediately my power steering goes out and I can't turn my wheel. I looked back and I had hit a speed bump that was (and I sh1t you not) 10 feet across! It was painted white but it was so big that it just looked like a stripe in the road. It was right at a crosswalk too so I just thought it was to let traffic know it was a crosswalk. Unless you get right up on it you can't see that it even has an incline! Well, when I started my job the first day I wanted to look for a warning sign and off in the bushes and trees was a barely visable sign that read "HUMPS".
I'm left with crushed power steering lines, 2 broken tie rods, and I have to get a new power steering pump! All of this will cost me about 600 bucks!