I'm not sure where this one will end up, but let us begin here.

Long ago and far far away (I think it was a Wednesday) I was enjoying an unusual morning off (unusual because it was a Wednesday instead of Thursday). I had arisen at my customary hour on a day off (5:30 am-ish) and had spent time reading the scriptures, and a fantastic book by Tad R. Callister titled "The Infinite Atonement". I had just settled on the love seat to view several news programs to catch up on some of the world news from overnight. I heard the dogs jump from the bed to the floor and begin to trot down the hallway to the living room where they paused briefly waiting for the other female of the household to catch up. They led her to the back door and were sent outside to do whatever dogs do in the morning after a cozy night inside. Mrs. Mahan then returned to the living room where she let me know that we needed to have a conversation. I say conversation but what I really mean is she had something to talk to me about that required very little input from me - other than listening. I'm a good listener (I think) and so I obliged her. After an emotional few minutes I asked if she needed anything from me? She replied that no she just needed to vent a little and would work through it herself (phew!).

Let me back up a few days and help clarify what comes next in our little drama. Monday I receive a phone call from Mrs. Mahan in which she tells me she is on her way to Grand Junction, Colorado to exchange vehicles with our daughter Kelli who is getting ready to leave to visit two of her sisters in the Orem, Utah area but has more stuff than will fit in her car. Okay, no problem. They make the exchange and Cindy (Mrs. Mahan) goes and visits her parents while in town and Kelli is on her way. She (Kelli) calls me around 1:30 pm or so and asks me if she should be concerned that there is a warning light on the instrument cluster flashing? I ask which one and make a quick call to our service manager who tells me that she needs to park the car and call a tow truck. I relay that message and we decide that she will continue down the highway 3 miles to Crescent Junction where she will be able to exit the highway and find a cool spot to wait. I then call roadside assistance and begin the process of helping them understand that even though the car is 50 miles inside the Utah border the nearest dealer is not 140 miles away in American Fork, Utah but is in fact only 65 - 70 miles away in Grand Junction, Colorado.

In the meantime, the Mahan sister network (including the Mom) is buzzing with activity and finally I am off the phone with roadside assistance and take several calls from different daughters and finally from the Mom (Cindy). We decide that she (Cindy) will drive Kelli's car to Crescent Junction so that Kelli can continue on to visit her sisters and their families even if she can't take everything she hoped to. Then Cindy will wait for the tow truck and ride back to Grand Junction with the car. It all works perfectly. Kelli makes her visit, Cindy rides in the non-air conditioned tow truck across the 100 degree desert of eastern Utah back to Grand Junction, I pick her up at her parents that evening and we return home in time to unwind a little before retiring for the evening. We love it when a plan comes together.

Tuesday was uneventful. The car is done. We plan to pick it up Wednesday instead of Thursday because of a last minute change in my day off. Which brings us back to the beginning. Keep in mind that all of these things have been piling up on her through the first days of the week. Things are looking good other than the emotional mood she is in because of a situation that has been building for some time that has her (both of us really) concerned regarding our children and grand children.

Wednesday after the young man who Cindy occasionally pays to mow our lawn leaves, and I have gone back over the lawn where he was in a bit of a hurry and didn't do a great job, we head to Grand Junction to pick up the Subaru Crosstrek from the dealer. No problems. We decided to go to lunch since it was after the noon hour. We like Chili's so we headed over there to grab a bite. As we are waiting on the waitress to bring our food Cindy started digging in her pockets for the key that operates the ignition of the Crosstrek to add it back onto her key ring. She can't find it in a pocket. We both know what will happen if she dropped it into her purse, so she digs through her pockets again. No key. Deep emotional sigh as she begins the process of removing every accumulated item from the bottomless pit that is her (any woman's) purse. After emptying the entire contents she looks at me and wonders aloud if she dropped it on the way into the restaurant? I get up and retrace the path from our table to the car. No key. I look inside the vehicle and way down on the floor below the ignition I see a single key - the one that should be in her pocket or purse. Of course I didn't bring my key for this vehicle but, I notice that the window is cracked open to allow air to circulate. Not enough for my arm to reach in to unlock the door and I cannot think of anything that I can use to reach in and accomplish the task.

After a moment I thought back to a conversation Cindy and I had on Monday evening as we were driving home from Grand Junction. She kept complaining about something scraping against her foot and it was late enough that darkness prevented her from readily identifying the item. She had the same issue as we were driving to Grand Junction that morning and picked up the ice scraper/snow brush I use as needed and tossed it onto the back seat. I thought it just might be thin enough and long enough to reach through the window and reach the lock/unlock button on the door armrest. I retrieved it from my car, (a few amused looks as I was walking through the parking lot with an ice scraper on a 90 degree day) I was able to get it through the slightly opened window and twist it around to reach the unlock button. The key was retrieved, I returned to the restaurant, We enjoyed our lunch, and finally returned home later that afternoon. I chuckled that this would make a good story for me to share here and she told me I should wait a few days to allow her to get over the emotional moment she was working through. So I did.

Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.