A Surprise Mini Retreat!

I've never enjoyed having car trouble more!

At about 2:30 this afternoon I went to our local Cokesbury bookstore for what I thought would be a quick trip to pick up some books I had ordered. When I returned to my mom-mobile (Dodge Caravan) I found that my key would not budge in the ignition.

We've resisted joining that lobbying group known as AAA, but I was kinda wishing I was a card carrying member right then. I called a mechanic and he told me that I needed to call a locksmith. For some reason, hundreds of people chose today to lock themselves out. I called eight locksmiths before I found one who could help me, but I had to wait until he finished three other jobs, of course. My husband was home sick with the flu and wasn't keen on packing the kids up to come get me, just to take me back when the locksmith was able to get around to me. Besides, I didn't know how long I would be waiting.

Well, the locksmith didn't arrive until 6:00 PM, but I didn't care because I was in a bookstore! I was able to leisurely look over all the shelves without feeling guilty about lolly-gagging! I got to take a good look at some titles that I had thought looked good in the catalogs but didn't want to commit to buying without knowing more. I tried on some stoles. Two pastors in the Presbytery came in at different times and I chatted with them. I discovered that the store manager (I'll call him Mark) is married to a pastor in town and they have children the same ages as ours. We're going to make plans to have Mark and his family over for dinner sometime soon.

This mini retreat wasn't free, however. The locksmith bill was $110. Ouch!