Yesterday the snow started, melting into a wet layer of water that froze slick overnight. This morning the ground was an ice skating rink. I got the kids safely to school, then went to pick up tile samples. In the empty parking lot, at roughly 3 mph, my car skidded into a curb. Probably no biggie, I thought, everything looked fairly normal, and went in to get my tiles. When I tried to drive again, it gave an awful squeal and felt very very strange. Discount Tire was 0.3 miles away, so I hobbled over and they took a quick look. They said the wheel and tire look good, but the suspension has been jammed back. The noise was the tire rubbing against the wheel well, and the strange axle angle explains why I had to hold the steering wheel at 2 o’clock to go straight.
An hour on the phone filing a claim got me a tow truck, a rental car, and an appointment at the repair shop. Ben came whizzing down from Longmont to my rescue and to help pick up our pre-schooler on time.
Everyone at each of those places said they’ve been crazy busy; it seems most of the Denver area has stories similar to mine. Four hours after the incident I’m finally home for lunch, after what was supposed to be a quiet, productive, relaxing morning without kids or house workers for the first day in weeks.
Looking on the bright side: Sam was a dear, and the repair shop had popcorn!
Also our insurance covered a mini-van rental. I’m in love. I don’t mind driving this luxury mom-machine for a few weeks or months! It will make my next trip to IKEA easy-breezy.
Also, no one was hurt. No property or other cars were involved. I have great insurance. Sure, it’s our FIFTH claim since September, but that’s what it’s there for. (If you weren’t keeping score: Water Damage, Ben’s Car, Wind Damage, Computer, My Car.)
Dang! Not a good winter for Waterhouses, ice and their cars. So sorry