I made it out

Well, I made it out on Tuesday.  Just barely.  And then I almost didn't make it back.  If it had just been groceries that I was after, I probably would have talked myself into staying home, but I had two mystery shops due, scheduled in more optimistic, and less icy, times.  So I girded my loins put on my big girl pants, gunned the engine, and somehow made it to the road before gravity and ice took over.

The roads actually weren't all that bad.  In fact, once I got to the main road, it was completely dry.  It was just that first mile and a half that had me white-knuckling my steering wheel.  Of course, then it started snowing, much earlier than my weather app led me to believe it would.  Then the roads weren't dry.

I successfully completed the two shops, grabbing groceries in between at an Aldi I rarely frequent, and then I decided to go to Wal-mart.  I know, I know.  I generally avoid that place like the plague, but there are some things that Aldi just doesn't carry, like rutabagas.  And Wal-mart was the only grocery store that required right turns only. 

When I returned to my vehicle, it wouldn't start.  Not just wouldn't start, but I couldn't even turn the key.  It was just...stuck.  Now, this is something that happens with some regularity in the Saturn.  You know, the Saturn that is older than my adult child?  And when it happens in the Saturn, all you have to do is jiggle the steering wheel and the key will turn.

Didn't work. 

Checked the owners manual.  Nothing.

Called the Hubs to see if this had happened to him or if he had any suggestions.  On the way into a meeting, he started the car for me remotely, but in order to drive one needs to not only have the key, but also be able to turn the key to the run position.  No go.

Hubby called the dealership, which suggested jiggling the steering wheel while turning the key.  Nope.  Surely this was my punishment for shopping at Wal-mart.

Hubby drove home to get his key to try, then drove to the Wal-mart parking lot.  Meanwhile, I had been trying to turn the key every so often, just to see if the Yukon had changed its mind.  Nope. Nothing. Nada.

Until.  Hubby pulled up into the parking spot beside me.  I tried one more time, and the key turned; the vehicle started.

You guys.  I was annoyed.  The car not starting was not part of my plan for the day.  And it was just so random.  Why would it start just fine, every single time we asked it to, and then suddenly not?  And then just as suddenly decide to start again?  So inconvenient, and not just for me (thank you again for coming to my rescue, Hubby).

But you know what I decided?  It had to have been a God thing.  There was some reason that I needed to be stuck in that parking lot for over an hour.  I will probably never know what disaster was averted due to that little diversion, but I choose to believe my inconvenience was for my protection.  Even if it's not true, it's a lovely thought--a hug from God.

 Now, of course, I'm stuck here.  Forever.  Or until the ice melts.  Hubby tells me I need to just drive in the grass.  As if I could find the grass at this point.  And as if I have that much control over that hunk of metal and glass.  *Sigh*

And it turns out I was lying to you about what we were going to eat this week, even though I did manage to get out for groceries.  Sorry, friends.  Sometimes...things just don't work the way we thought they would.  But that's a story for another time.