The Second Time In My Life

Before I start this story I will tell you two things you need to know about Robbie and I.
1. I would say 2 out of 3 times that Robbie borrows my car it comes back with the gas light on.
2. I am always rushing out the door in the morning with no time to spare.
I woke up this morning and in my usual rush got ready for the day, got McKinley ready for the day and headed out the door. As we were pulling out of the driveway I noticed the gas light was on. Robbie hadn't warned me about it, so I figured that it just came on or he would have mentioned it. I know that once the light comes on I can drive to and back from work for at least 3 days before I get close to the bottom of the tank, so I wasn't too worried. And I've never run out of gas in the Xterra.
So, back to my day, as we were driving to daycare there was horrible construction with no warning signs before hand and we had to take this really long detour. Finally after 45 minutes in the car I got to work.
Work was fine, very uneventful. At the end of the day I had plans to pick up McKinley from daycare, drop by the house to grab her a sandwich and head to Juan Diego to get my cell phone, which I left in a friends car the night before.
I headed out at 4:30 and picked up McKinley. For the record she had a great day and even made a cute little painting. As we were driving home we had stopped at a red light at 90th South-we were so close to home!
When we started going through the intersection I noticed that the car didn't have it's usual pick up, but again didn't think much of it. Then about 100 yards further down the road the car lurched. I looked down at the gas light and panicked...when did it come on? Did the light come on in Robbie's travels and he didn't mention it? Another 100 yards...the car slowed to a stop. So, there McKinley and I are sitting in the Xterra on the side of Bangerter Highway during rush hour traffic with NO cell phone! I started laughing so hard. What do you do with a one year old in a car that is stuck on the side of the highway...apparently I laugh.
I sat in the car trying to figure out what I was going to do. Each car that would pass would bring with it a HUGE gush of wind that rocked the car back and forth. After a few minutes, McKinley and I decided our best shot would be to go to the Neighborhood Walmart down the street. So, there on the side of the highway I pulled out my purse, pulled out McKinley, waited for a break in traffic and went running across the highway holding my one year old!
We started to make the walk down the weedy side of the highway to Walmart and a very nice gentlemen pulled over to see if we needed help. We were able to use his phone and I called the only two numbers I could remember. First Robbie....of course he didn't answer :) I left a message telling him we were headed to Walmart, the car was on the highway and I would call my parents to see if they could come get us. I then dialed my mom and she willingly jumped in her car and came to pick us up. We said thanks to the nice gentlemen, turned down the ride and continued our walk to Walmart. 3 other people stopped to help us too.
Once we arrived at Walmart, we hung out in the front of the building waiting for our ride. As we waited, McKinley found some delicious chocolate that another patron was nice enough to drip on the ground and before I could stop her she ATE it!
Finally my mom arrived and took us home. I was going to call Robbie on the ride home to tell him we were OK so he wouldn't worry, but turns out her cell phone wasn't working! When we got home, I went knocking on neighbors doors for a phone to call Robbie and tell him we made it home. I must have gone to 8 different doors before someone was home. Again, I got Robbie's voicemail, so I just told him we had made it home and we'd see him soon.
Once Robbie got home he mentioned that yesterday on his way home from Layton it had turned on. So, when I got in the car this morning I didn't know that after the gas light went on the car came home from Layton then out to Lehi and all the way back again. No wonder I didn't make it home! Oh well, I think McKinley enjoyed the walk.

*I've only run out of gas one other time. I was 20 and my dad had to drive to SLCC to put some gas in my car at 9:00 at night!