Wow! Remember my post yesterday? I ended it by saying that today would be better — I couldn’t have been more wrong. Today was the worst!
It all started in the morning while driving the kids to school. The car began stalling and losing power out of nowhere. There’s a bridge on the way to their school, and just as we were going down, the engine died completely — I lost all steering. We had to roll down the slope as I tried to regain control, praying silently the whole way.
Just when I thought we had stopped safely, I shifted into Park — or at least tried to. Instead, there was a loud cranking noise, probably from the gearbox, because the reverse gear had somehow engaged. Finally, it locked into Park, and the car stopped exactly in front of a zebra crossing — right as people were crossing!
Does that make me a good person? Maybe. I risked my gearbox to save pedestrians — probably saved a few lives there! But honestly, the kids and my brother-in-law were terrified.
Still, I had to get the kids to school. I trusted that my car wouldn’t completely let me down. The school was just a couple of miles ahead, so I decided to give it one more try. The car started, but every time I lifted my foot off the accelerator, the engine would die again. On the final stretch, I had to restart it almost three times. When we finally reached the school gate, the car gave up completely. At least the kids made it safely.
I thought maybe I could still make it to the office, but that was wishful thinking. I found an empty road and parked on the side. I called my mechanic — no answer. Tried another — also unavailable. A few meters ahead there was a small garage, but the mechanics hadn’t arrived yet. I told my brother-in-law to grab a bike and head to work while I figured things out.
Finally, my luck turned. My mechanic called back — turns out he was just a couple of blocks away! When he arrived, I told him I suspected the throttle was clogged, since I’d dealt with that before. We unscrewed it, cleaned it with some fuel, and even wiped the air intake sensor — but no luck. The problem persisted.
After more inspection, we found the real culprit: an air leak in a pipe connected to the main engine’s air sensor. We cut off the damaged part, shortened the pipe, reattached it, and tested the car. It worked! Thank God.
I finally made it to work, but dealing with a mechanical issue first thing in the morning is extremely stressful.
Bottom line: I need a new car.
By evening, I went to pick up the kids, got home, tried to blog while the kids were screaming, finally sent them off to bed — and here I am, exhausted but grateful.
Sometimes being a parent means keeping calm when everything falls apart.
What a day.
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