Way OT - My Friday

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-21-2005
Way OT - My Friday
3
Sat, 01-28-2006 - 8:59am

And it wasn't even Friday the 13th. Picked up dd from school. I asked if she had much homework and, at the same time, braked for an RR crossing. Her backpack hit the floor with a loud THUMP (it weighs about as much as a pee wee football player) and she said "there's your answer". The ride was pleasant as always until she turned around and let out a cry that was so startling and full of horror that I honestly thought she'd witnessed an accident or saw a house on fire or I was about to hit a deer. Then she said "MOM!!!!!!!! The lid came off the paint can (I was returning it to be remixed) and there's paint all over the floor!!!!!!

All over the floor of my BRAND NEW CAR. The car that replaced a 10 year old model with 150,000 miles on it. The force of the backpack knocked it over and OF COURSE I hadn't secured the lid tightly enough and, well - you can just imagine...

After a brief, silent mental meltdown, I asked her to turn the paint can upright and hand me the phone. I called a local cleaning business and told them the story. I drove straight there and listened to their exclamations: "WOW - that's ALOT of paint!!!!!!" "It's under the seat and everything!" "Look at that purse!" (my purse was floating in the paint lake). "That's at least a 1/2 gallon!" "You better call your insurance company".

Anyway, they did a remarkable job of getting it out of the carpet (white paint, black carpet), but they couldn't get under the seat. Then - they didn't charge me. Dd and I must have looked pretty pitiful. I'm calling the insurance company on Monday AND I'm calling to have pizza sent to the cleaning people along with a thank you note. What a stupid thing to do. Next time, I'll hammer the lid back on.

I have to say, I did a decent job of keeping my cool throughout the trauma. And my sweet dd said at one point "It's ok, mom, it was an accident." "It's just a thing. At least nobody got hurt."

I guess if I'm going to have a bad day, I'd rather it be about a "thing" than soemthing more precious.

Avatar for momtb4
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 01-29-2006 - 4:44am
wow, what a day! Funny how we have to tell someone the obvious (please, stand the can back up....!) LOL You are so lucky the cleaning company took such great care of it. I'd have gone home and used my own steam cleaner..... Sounds like your DD has her head on straight, at least some days.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2005
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 11:23am

Yuck, what a mess. Reminds me of the weekend my friends momma cat moved her entire litter of kittens into my car (under the seat). The momma cat left and I got in the car and went home. Rolled up the windows and locked the car. Next morning, I drove to school and went about my day. Between 5th and 6th period I went to my car and saw kittens all over the dash and seats. My 6th period teacher was gracious enough to mark me present for the day and told me to leave. I drove the babies home. They were climbing all over me. Thank God it wasnt' extremely hot. My car smelled so bad. It did take a professional cleaner to get the smell out.

My DH also left some frozen fish in a cooler in the trunk of my car in July. I noticed the smell around noon the next day but didn't know what it was until after I got off work. I had to ride home with windows down. It was the same car!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-21-2005
Mon, 01-30-2006 - 1:15pm
OMG! It is SUCH a good thing that those kitties didn't fry in your car. That would have been awful. What a surprise (but kind of fun..) it must have been for you to see those furballs in your car. But the fish.... just plain yuck!
jt