I feel like we are a “good” family. I feel like we have a great deal of challenge in our lives. What I don’t really get is why we just can’t catch a break. I spent yesterday driving all over to get the kids everywhere they needed to go. We ended our day at the doctors getting Gavin’s blood work done for this week. On the way home I pulled up to an intersection under construction. I was getting ready to turn right and head home. This intersection is all torn up and the right hand lane I was turning into is VERY narrow at the moment due to the construction. As I was making my right hand turn the van “shook” and then died. It wouldn’t start again. I put on the hazards and called for help.

We were in a really bad spot on the road and ALL the kids were in the car but there was no safe way to get them out. We had a HUGE line of traffic behind us and apparently everyone was seeing hazard lights for the first time because NO ONE seemed to understand that they meant we were stranded. We were getting cursed at and screamed at. There cars almost crashing right in front of us. People were so angry with us that they would zoom around us, flip me the “bird” and literally almost crash into oncoming traffic. I mean there were cars slamming on their brakes and squealing tires. All the while the kids are FREAKING out. The tow truck was on it’s way along with my Dad and North Canton PD.

We counted about 150 people that either completely ignored us or cussed us out. At one point even 2 construction workers were examining the repair work on the road RIGHT next to us and they ignored us as well. I kept trying to start the car so I could get us off the road as we were almost hit twice. The car would crank but wouldn’t run. We were stuck there for about 30 minutes. When my dad arrived we figured out the best place to push the van but we needed the road blocked off. North Canton PD arrived and blocked traffic so we could push the van through the intersection and into a parking lot to await being towed. I had the van finally towed back to Waterloo Transmission and they dropped it off in it’s “usual” spot. Have I said how much I HATE this van.

I HATE this van. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.  It was just in the shop last week for the water pump. Since then our Mother’s Day plans were ruined because the ABS brakes went crazy and we couldn’t drive the van. We have been avoiding driving it but we had NO choice yesterday. We could disable the ABS system and just use the regular brakes for right now so that was temporarily addressed. Now it appears the fuel pump is DEAD and we still have brake problems and electrical issues.  The bottom line is that this Van just isn’t SAFE or RELIABLE. I kick myself everyday for deciding to buy it. We were desperate and we could afford it but it has turned out to be a curse that is bleeding us to death. I have to figure out how to replace it but that’s simply not possible now or in the foreseeable future. What really gets me is why. Why does this happen to us? Don’t we have enough challenges in our life already? I’m not asking for anything to be handed to us but at LEAST make it POSSIBLE for us to get up and move forward.

I really hate being so negative but it’s really hard not to be anymore.