A Tender Mercy

Last week Phil was out of town,  in Washington DC for a convention. We missed our dad for 6 long days and it gave me a glimpse of what is to come when Phil will have month-long away rotations. Kate cried for him in the mornings but it got better the longer he was away and they liked to hear his voice on the phone.

We kept busy while he was gone and one morning with the kids antsy to get out of the house we packed everyone up to go for a walk. We grabbed the kids' cars, I strapped on Rhett and put light jackets on Max and Kate and one for myself. I was a hot mess of no make-up, bed head thrown into a ponytail, exercise clothes and hid my tired eyes behind sunglasses. We went out through the garage and I realized the garage door opener was in the truck. I didn't want to unlock the truck and get the opener, Max and Kate were already hovering in the driveway ready to roll and so I just grabbed the house keys and closed the garage door, hopping over the sensor. We went on our merry way and enjoyed the sunny yet windy day.

30ish minutes later we roll back up to the house, it is lunch time, nap time and we are tired of being in the wind. I unlock the front door and SLAM! It won't open all the way. Um, crap. Last night I had flipped the security lock, the one that only lets you open the door about an inch and can only be opened from the inside. Great. I say a prayer after mentally slapping my forehead, or maybe I really did slap my forehead? I walk around the perimeter of the house, checking every window and door. Everything is locked up tight. I occupy Max and Kate with buckets and shovels and return to the front door. It is mocking me as it sits cracked open.

Luckily I did bring my phone with me. I call my friend J'lene and tell her how stupid I am. She immediately asks what she can do to help. I tell her the only way into my house is through the truck to get my garage door opener and my truck keys are in the house too. She asks if I have roadside assistance on my car insurance and I tell her I don't think so but I will still call and check.

I have my insurance information in my phone and scroll down to the contact and hit dial. I am caught off guard when he just answers with a "hello" as I was expecting the office line, he says he is working remotely. My phone called the first number listed which happened to be the agent's cell phone. I apologize for calling him directly and tell him my situation, how I am stuck outside my house with three small children and my husband is out of town. I was just going to hang up and move on but he says he can check my file for me to see if we have roadside assistance. We do not have roadside assistance or AAA. The sweet man offers to use his personal account of AAA and send them to me. He had to pull some strings to do so, changing the address on the account to my own.

Long story long, 30 minutes later a AAA truck arrives. Hi name is Clyde, "like Bonnie and Clyde" and he tells me he will need to see my AAA card and/or ID. Um, crap. I know I don't have an account and I am worried that I will get the insurance agent in trouble. I figure worse case scenario I am paying for the cost to save us. He breaks into the truck, the alarm blares, scaring the dickens out of Kate and I rush in to open the garage door and grab the keys to turn off the alarm. I calm Kate down, usher the kids inside and get my wallet. I hand him my drivers license and he takes it, looks at it and hands it back. He thanks me, wishes me a better day and drives away. Whew!

I am so grateful that the day turned out as it did. We were truly blessed and I don't mean that lightly. So many things worked out beautifully:

• I had my cell phone on me
• I called J'lene who suggested calling my car insurance company
• That I actually had my contact information in my phone
• That the number it dialed was the agent's personal line
• That the agent was so generous in assisting us
• We have very little discretionary money to spend on foolish mistakes like I made. I would have had to hire a locksmith to come out and break into the house or truck. 

The agent let me know that he added roadside assistance to my account. I made sure I called him back and thanked him profusely for helping us. He truly went above and beyond in serving us. I made goodies for him and his office staff.

I am grateful that Heavenly Father was aware of us and I know that is why things played out so well. That little prayer that I desperately uttered when the door first slammed was critical. I am thankful for J'lene in that she was willing to drop everything to help me; drop her kids off at neighbors, pick us up or bring us lunch, whatever I needed/wanted, she offered to do all of this! I love that we have numerous friends that we can call on, they are our med school family and I love them dearly. We were watched over while Phil was away and I wanted to note this event to remember the kindness of others and that we are loved and blessed.