margie and the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day

A HORRIBLE, AWFUL, NO GOOD, ROTTEN DAY

As you may know the Niedzwiecki-Niedzwieckis' have been a bit mad and crazed recently. Randy has been going back and forth to Calgary for the past 3 weeks due to Rob's injury and subsequent hospitalization; Thaba and Phet just got back from India; I was planning (and did go) to go to London and working full time.

So... 2 weeks ago I phoned Randy in Calgary and said, "Oh m'gawd, on Friday you left the car at the Valet parking thinking that you'd be back on Sunday night and here it is Monday and it's STILL there! Yikes, the dollar signs are clicking like mad! $$$$$$$$

So I will go to the airport, pick up the car, pay the outrageously expensive bill and bring the car home.

On Tuesday, I drove to work, and my dear friend Nicole kindly dropped me at the airport in the early afternoon on her way to her home visit in the west end. I picked up Thaba and Phet's car and paid, and they gave me the key. In I jumped and off I went. I took the car back to our house, then took the subway, yes you read that correctly THE SUBWAY! back to work.

At 4:45 I went out to the parking lot and tried to get into my car so I could go to my 5:00pm home visit. We now own a lovely Camry Hybrid, with a push button starter. One of the great things about this car is it has a keyless entry so you just have to have the keys on you to get in. Well I flung myself at the car, didn't open; I flung my purse, same result, I flung my briefcase, nada. So... I must have left my keys in my office, dash back up 4 flights of stairs, tear office apart: NO KEY. Crap, crap, crap. Cancel my home visit. Figure I must have left the keys on the seat of T & P's car. So... I take THE SUBWAY home, arggghhhhh. Get home: no keys. But also, I don't have my house keys either. Luckily there is a secretly hidden front door key, which I could use IF I HADN'T LOCKED THE SCREEN DOOR WHILE I WAS DOING LAUNDRY THE DAY BEFORE.

Breathe deeply, tell myself I'm a grown woman, and that I may not crash in the front window under any circumstances.

I then go to my 6:30 home visit.

I return home at 8:30 pm and go across to wonderful neighbours who come over and cut the screen out of the screen door I had luckily left the window in the door part way open) and then Glen puts his hand in and releases the catch. Their adorable son Hugh, who is 2 loves coming in my house and 'paying', he says in his sweet voice, " I dum in you ouse Mahggie?" I was so upset I just said "Nope, not today Hugh."

So, I go in and phone Valet Parking at the airport and ask if I left my keys there, "Why yes you did." they say.

So.... off I trundle to the airport at 9:00 pm, pick up my keys, and drive back home. I sat down to my lonely dinner all alone at 9:45 and promptly burst into tears.

And then the next day I TOOK THE SUBWAY TO WORK. AGAIN.

And that was my horrible, awful, no-good day. But... I must say that all those misadventures paid off because my trip to London went like a breeze, lovely seat going over, 2 rows back from business class, empty seat beside me, and ditto for the return.

Love, mum

[Toronto-18-June-2008]