Yesterday started with celebrating my soon-to-be-married niece, Lizzie.
It ended with me lying flat in the seat of my own Subaru while it rode on a tow truck through rural Ohio.
As one does.
How did we get here? Well, read on to find out…
1️⃣ The Best Memories Usually Aren't Planned
The plan was simple. Load my two nieces (Lizzie and Emma) and my soon-to-be nephew (Connor) into the trusty Forester for a little 2½-hour road trip to hear Jim's cousin play in a band along the shores of Lake Erie.
Instead…
About halfway there, my Subaru lit up like a Christmas tree, started misfiring, and decided that first gear was the only operable speed. Despite trying the equivalent of the good old IT suggestion to “restart the computer,” it became evident that “concert" was no longer part of the list of possible outcomes.
😜 I guess I jinxed myself with that “I hope I don’t lose an axle fording the river” Oregon Trail-inspired away message….
💡 Lesson: We can try to make memories all we want, but the unexpected usually makes for a better lifelong story (very true in this case!)
2️⃣ Help Usually Shows Up Through People
When Subaru Roadside Assistance informed me that a 45-mile tow (told you we were in the middle of nowhere, Ohio) would be nearly $500 because my coverage had apparently expired…
…I nearly had a moment. 😰
Until Lizzie whipped out an AAA card and saved the day.
One phone call and half the amount of money later, a tow truck driver rolled onto the scene like he’d been waiting his whole life for this assignment.
As you’ll see in Tip 3, I’m pretty sure that was exactly the case, lol.
💡 Lesson: Never underestimate the people willing to solve a problem with you.
3️⃣ Every Great Adventure Needs a Tony
Two truck Ton (as we will call him to protect the innocent) rolled up and hopped out of the truck, all 5’5” of him, complete with shin-length shorts, Nike Air Maxes, and a safety vest down to his knees.
Who needs safety boots anyway? 🥾
Getting my car out of the middle-of-nowhere Ohio was one feat, but getting the four passengers who had been in it was a second when I saw that the cab of Tow Truck Tony’s truck would fit all of about one-and-a-half people.
Four passengers weren't happening, no matter how many empty Whopper® and Marlboro® Red containers we tossed or how many laps we stacked.
After a little negotiating, he looked at me and said,
"Well…you can ride in the Subaru on the flatbed. Just keep your seats down and don't lift your heads because I could lose my job."
Safety third. I’m in.
So into the car Emma and I went. Have I mentioned that she is also my summer intern? Yeah, you can’t have her….😉
I can’t tell you whether it felt like we were lying in a CAT scan or a sailboat, but I can tell you that Two Truck Tony and Connor became absolute best friends in the cab while he high-tailed it to a Subaru dealership in glamorous Youngstown, OH, going (apparently) no less than 85 MPH.
Ok, so safety fourth?
By the time we reached the dealership, Connor and Lizzie had a life story, a few laughs, and had been offered a smoke more times in their lives than they had combined so far. 🤣
Pretty sure Tow Truck Tony might ask Connor to ride shotgun on all future rescues.
💡 Lesson: Sometimes the people you meet for an hour become part of your favorite stories.
4️⃣ Some Bucket List Items Find You
I'd never really considered driving my Subaru onto the back of a flatbed tow truck, an item on my bingo card, but well, check. ✅
Didn't know that was something I wanted to experience.
Also didn’t know I needed to experience riding in a car on the flat bed of a tow truck.
Still not sure I needed to experience that, but the Subaru Sailboat didn’t make me seasick like that whale-watching tour in San Diego 15 years ago.
Life has a funny way of handing us experiences we'd never volunteer for but somehow end up laughing about later, and I’m pretty sure this is one Emma and I, especially, will laugh about until she’s well past my age.
💡 Lesson: Some of life's best stories start with, "Well…this wasn't the plan."
5️⃣ Recovery Looks Different Than You Expect
A visit to Y-town, Ohio. (There’s another thing that was definitely not on my bingo card.)
Since we were now unexpectedly waiting for my dad (known affectionately as "Bop" to the nieces, and in this instance, SuperBop for hopping in the car at a moment's notice at 8 p.m.) to rescue us, we wandered into a local burger place for food and a (much-needed and well-earned) drink.
This place was even full of a character or two, including our server, who pulled up a chair while taking our order to listen in to the day’s events.
Apparently, the therapist was in. 😆
💡 Lesson: Sometimes the best way to recover is simply to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
6️⃣ The World Is Way Smaller Than You Think
Because apparently yesterday wasn't random enough…
…we walked into the restaurant, and someone said,
"Angie?"
It was a girl who was a few years behind me in high school.
Yes, I am serious. Yes, the world is *that* small.
Her kid happened to be in Youngstown for a softball tournament.
Naturally.
Because, of course, in a random town in Ohio, an hour-and-a-half from your hometown, after breaking down on a highway and riding illegally on a tow truck, you run into an old high school friend. 🤷
If you ever thought the Sunday Scaries weren’t from real experiences, ha!
I can’t make this stuff up.
💡 Lesson: Life has a remarkable sense of humor if you're paying attention.
7️⃣ If You're Going to Get Stranded…
…be stranded with good people.
Yesterday could be remembered as frustrating (it was). Stressful (also, yes). I could have traumatized my two twenty-something nieces and nephew on our first real outing together in 15 years.
Instead, it became one of those stories we'll tell and laugh about for years.
Because the car wasn't the point anymore.
The people were.
Two awesome nieces.
One incredible summer intern.
A soon-to-be nephew.
One legendary tow truck driver we’ll just call Tony.
One dad who immediately hit the road to come get us.
Not exactly the itinerary we planned…
…but I'd still call it a pretty great day anyway.
💡 Lesson: The right people can turn almost any detour into a memory worth keeping.
The car will get fixed, and hopefully, it’ll cost hundreds, not thousands.
But the story, as weird as it sounds, is priceless.
👉 Maybe your Sunday Scaries don't need everything to go according to plan.
Maybe they just need the right people riding along.
Your Friend and Coach,
Angie
