Time Out

Have I told you about what a simple girl I am?

Well, no. Not simple. Hubby would beg to differ.

(Complicated and difficult would be his adjectives of choice, I suspect.)

Let me rephrase that.

I am a girl who is made happy with extraordinarily simple things.

I escaped the house tonite, running out the door before anyone registered the sentence, "Going-to-the-store-be-right-back" ... to avoid the little buggers begging me to let them come along or purchase sugary items for them.

I drove over to the neighborhood "Kwik Stop" (I love you Kevin Smith). I began to notice that I was having a difficult time seeing the bike riders, out to take advantage of the cool evening air. I realized that made the car windows dirty and dangerous. I then began to calculate the last time my poor little car had been washed. I stopped counting when I got past four months, but then my brief internal argument started.

I have a hard time spending money on myself. I know. But even though the wash and wax was not for me, per se, (don't picture that in your head) I had a hard time rationalizing spending the money on a non-necessity. Isn't that sad? The other side of my brain piped up. "But here in the desert, patronizing the corner car wash is not a luxury. We are not allowed to wash our cars at home, due to the water shortage. There is really no other option. When you factor in the pollen and dust that coats our little autos daily from mid-March on, a car wash moves into the necessary column." Point and match.

And, damn it, I love my car. Her name is 'Nilla.

Plus, we could both use a little extra time away from home.

So, I spent a whopping $4 and bought my baby car a wash, wax and dry.

I pulled into the lane, punched my six-digit code into the little white box just outside my driver's window, made sure all four windows were shut extra tight and rolled slowly into the tunnel. This part can be a little tricky, because the big green friendly letters on the screen at the end beckon you by flashing ENTER SLOWLY repeatedly. But the second you reach that oh-so-specific spot, right after your front tires climb over the two little metal humps, it changes and commands you to STOP !!! in bright red letters. Call me overly sensitive, but it makes my OCD surge and my left eye twitch a little until I put the car in park.

Now comes the good part.

I tapped the selector keys on my stereo to the local classic rock station and found "Brass in Pocket" by Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders. Just beginning. As if the God of the Car Wash was watching and decided to give me a little break.

I cranked the volume UP.

For the next 3:09, it was just me and 'Nilla and Chrissie ... I can't speak for 'Nilla, but I was singing along at the top of my lungs.

FINISHED ... HAVE A GOOD DAY the car wash sign announced.

I cruised over the two metal speed bumps, and inched my way under the powerful dryer at the end.

Chrissie and I were still singing, and even 'Nilla was swaying to the beat. I swear she was.

Then we drove home. Chrissie left to make way for Blue Oyster Cult, ( bonus) and I returned home in a much more relaxed state of mind.

Amazing what you can get for $4 bucks.

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P.S. I published this post, shut off my laptop and started my nightly routine.

This consists of turning out lights, making sure all the animals are inside, checking that all the windows are closed and locked, and (always last) making sure the front door is double-locked.

It wasn't, so I crossed the living room to flip the top lock closed.

Gradually, I hear a faint noise coming from the front lawn.
Strange.
Kinda sounds like ...
... water.
I open the door.

The frickin' sprinklers are on.

Splashing hundreds of thousands of drops of (hard) water on my newly washed car. (Do you know how impossibly difficult it is to remove hard water spots?)

Double frick!

Oh, well. I'll start saving my change tonite and have another four bucks ready when I need another escape. Maybe I'll make a special playlist and burn a CD - just for "car wash time outs."