"What's That Smell?!" Part 2

 "What’s That Smell?!” Part 2

After my husband and I checked the bottom of our shoes to make sure we hadn’t stepped on “something”, my husband turns back ready to ask our son to check his shoes. However, the expression on our son’s face along with his right sandal’s sole spoke volumes. Our son had stepped on dog poop… Thank you oh-so-kind-neighbor-up-the-street who loves to irk the neighborhood by letting his dogs use our front yards as their personal potty.

Sorry, I digressed, back to the meat of my story. Naturally, our son placed his feet on the car mat and… it smeared on the floor mat!!! Ugggh. Remember, we were on the freeway on our way to Camarillo, and, running late-very late at that point! What to do? What to do? The knowledge that there was dog feces on my car mat made me want to toss all contaminated objects out of my car. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh! Simply recalling that incident makes me feel like I need to shower. Ugh.

Quote from son: "Isn't it against the law to not pick up after your dog?"

But, I don't litter, so, I didn't.  Instead, we immediately exited the freeway to take care of our unexpected surprise. We stopped at the nearest gas station, but, just like an I Love Lucy episode, we had no luck with the water hose. The clock was tick-tocking away and we were trying to take care of business when a man in a vehicle approached us and asked if we were interested in buying wine?! I won’t go into details on the extent of our conversation (would require another post), but, as I type, I am laughing. Did he not see what we were dealing with or did he just not care?! It would be like someone coming in to ask Lucy and Ethel for a cup of sugar while they were dealing with their bread situation.

The issue with the hose, along with the man with no sense of empathy, had made our delay much longer than we could handle at that moment. Our son’s game was starting at 9 a.m., but, he needed to be at the baseball complex by 8 a.m. for warm-ups, etc., so, my husband asked if I happened to have anything in my car that would contain both our son’s sandal and the car mat until we reached the baseball complex. I did! “Seeeee, it pays to be ultra-prepared” I said with a laugh as I handed him a large heavy duty bag from my “just in case” emergency supplies. I like to tease him-he’s fun and it keeps our marriage interesting!

He placed all the soiled and stinky items into the bag, tied it and asked if I had an extra hair tie for added reinforcement. Of course, I did! A long-tressed runner and no hair ties on hand is unheard of, right, runners?! I was a bit grossed out at the idea of driving another 45 plus miles with that lovely package in tow, but, the only other option was to toss everything in the trash. We were tired, not thinking clearly, so, we went with the soiled items in bag option. After tossing our “gem” in the trunk, we prepared for take- off…

Meanwhile… inside my car…

While rubbing my husband’s shoulder with an awkward smile and tone that made me sound like Alexander, the character from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day book-to-movie adaptation, I say, “Awwww, haaaappy father’s day, honey…”

Sccrrreeech…

Finally. We arrived at the ball-park. My son and husband quickly unpacked all the baseball gear and I was off to, yet, another early morning adventure-the  do-it-yourself car wash we spotted on our way to the baseball complex. The perfect place to power wash my floor mat and son’s sandal. Hence, that was my destination after the quick drop-ff. How hard could that be, right?! Well, apparently, quite the feat for ME!

Giving a full description of my experience at the –do-it-yourself car-wash would entail writing a “Part 3”, but, I don’t want to turn my blog into mini-books, so, I’m going to be very brief.

I felt like Lucille Ball throughout the experience. The pay machine was out of order, on and off, but, I stayed with it because, apparently, Sunday mornings, father’s day morning is where most of the men in Camarillo like to hang-out. Every stall of the multi-stall car cash was filled with cars and some had a waiting line. Just my luck, right?!

Summary of my car wash experience:

• ·        The soap/water hose was a little on the koo-koo side and sprayed everything, but, my car. Fortunately, I was able to power wash the mats and sandals before the fun began. I was soaked with car wash soap and water. The upside of a very warm California day was that I was wearing shorts. Believe me, my water fun didn’t go unnoticed. I had a few looks of what the heck is this woman doing? Doesn’t she know how to wash a car? Weirdo!

• ·        The “car-dryer” was more like a giant straw that seemed to be blowing air as if a person was blowing air through a regular sized straw. The $3 car-wash cost more like $15 and my car still looked like it had sat through rain drops.

• ·        Thankfully, I had my son’s Sky Zone socks which worked like a nice alternative to a towel. I knew those would come in handy one day.

My son’s game was starting in 5 minutes and it was too early; otherwise, I would have made a stop at my favorite burger eatery across the way.

I made it just in time to watch my son’s first at-bat. As I took this picture, my mom friend tapped my shoulder to tell me she had arrived late, too. She loves to laugh with me and we both had a story for each other… Ha! I love to laugh with family and friends.