Husbands are great. Focuses are not.

Wednesday I just wanted to get home. I had gotten into work early (which is good because I was on a spree for a while when I could not get in before 9:15) and had a quiet meeting-free day and could easily sneak out by 5:15. so I tried that. and I got to my car, and I opened the door, sat in, put my key in the ignition and nothing.

it’s not that my car wouldn’t start. it’s that the key just wouldn’t turn. I tried, for 20 minutes straight, twisting the wheel, hitting the break, everything I could think of. I had graphite in my car, so I went back up to my office, opened the tube and went back down to my car. nothing. except that now I was covered in black stuff and my key wouldn’t turn.

at 6:15, my co-worker who parked a few cars over from me came out to go home. I asked him to try, figuring maybe if he really jammed it in, it may work. plus, this guy is totally mr. fix-it, so I thought if anyone that I work with might be able to help me, it’s him.

nothing.

somewhere around 5:45 I called j to tell him my plight. he sighed. did I try turning the wheel? yes. did I try the lubricant? yes. did I try everything else? yes. so he came down to rescue me.

at 7 pm, he pulled into the parking lot with my other key and a hammer. something was going to work.

sure enough, after trying for maybe 5 minutes, the majestic purr of the focus growled, ready to hit the 70 miles to home.

I could tell that while he was putting on the face of annoyance, he was pleased with himself. sure he might jokingly refer to himself as the man behind the woman, but there are times when I think he likes being my knight in shining armor. like when I can’t open the sauce jar, turn my key or face the day – he’s always there to get me through it.

this has been a hellacious week. tgithe-day-i-work-from-home.