The Thrill of Victory - the Agony of a Flat Tire

Last weekend, Chelsea had her first ballroom dance competition. We had to rise at 5am in order to get ready and leave shortly after 7:00am to head to Hartford. Chelsea and Tom (her partner) danced four dances together and received the following awards: Waltz (Gold), Tango (Gold), Rumba (Silver) and Swing (Gold). Chelsea also danced the Tango with her instructor, Alex, and received a Gold medal for that dance as well. It was so exciting seeing her out there dancing her heart out. Tom looked very handsome and gave it his all. They had such fun together! The highlight of the day, though, was watching a 93 year old woman who danced in almost every dance heat. She did a solo number that was the hit of the day. She danced with three men to "I've Had the Time of My Life." She was so funny! She received a standing ovation. It was great. Another moment that warmed my heart (and broke it a little too) was when Chelsea was dancing with her Dad during the open floor dance break. They were dancing and then Tom, nervously, cut in. It was so cute, but also a bit sad as we see Chelsea growing up and knowing that one day God will bring her husband to her and he will cut in and take her away. I can't bear to think of it!

After the day's dancing was over, we headed to Manchester for dinner. We couldn't find the Macaroni Grill we were going to eat at. After an hour of driving around, we finally ate at Friendly's. (By then, there were hour long waits everywhere else.) Upon leaving Friendly's, I noticed that our back tire looked really low. Well, it wasn't just low - it was flat! We carefully drove over to a nearby gas station/convenience store where Alex bought "Fix a Flat." Upon injecting the "Fix a Flat" into the tire, a nail popped out of the tire leaving a large hole. Of course, we did not have a spare in the back, so we were stuck! By now it was heading close to 9pm. Alex called AAA who told us they could tow the vehicle, but nothing could be done for it until Sunday. That still left us stranded. We cancelled AAA and after a few attempts, we got hold of Rich King who graciously agreed to come to Manchester at 11pm to rescue us! While we waited, Alex got us coffee in the convenience store that, Praise God!!, had a Dunkin' Donuts in it! The store also had a bathroom (PTL again!). In fact, Chelsea and I discovered when we went to use the ladies' room that this particular bathroom also had a TV in it!! Hey - why don't we ALL wait in here??? Chelsea was crying at this point because all she wanted to do was go home and wash her hair. As she said this to me, she looked over at the sink in the bathroom, back at me and then back at the sink again. Go for it, Chelsea. So, there in Manchester, in a ladies room at a convenience store, Chelsea rinsed her hair in the sink and then blew it dry with the hand blower.

While we waited for Rich, we counted our blessings. We were safely in a lit parking lot with a Dunkin' Donuts and bathroom. It was a warm night, so we weren't shivering in the car. We had eaten dinner, so we weren't hungry. And, we had good friends who would drop everything and come rescue us at midnight. What more could we ask of God?

We got home, finally, at 12:30am, exhausted beyond belief and so happy to be home!