Who do you call?
When something goes wrong when you're driving home, who do you call?
If you're like me, you now have the Ghostbusters song in your head. I'm sorry/you're welcome!
Most of the time I feel like a capable adult. Then something happens which I've never experienced before, and suddenly I feel like a child again!
Recently I was driving home at night and I could hear an odd noise coming from my car. I thought it was an engine noise, so I was driving slower than the speed limit and trying to work it out when it started to sound like it was coming from further back in the car.
Then, about five minutes short of reaching home, there was a horrible bang, and I immediately pulled off the side of the road. I got out of the car, and to my relief and horror found that my back driver's side tyre had blown. Relief, because it wasn't the engine and would be fixable. Horror because I've never changed a tyre, it was dark (no streetlights) and a bit cold, and I didn't know what to do.
In panic, I called my Mum.
Even though I knew she wouldn't be able to come, she was still the first person I called for help. And she did help. Just talking to her calmed me down a bit. Her first question? 'Have you called the RAA?' (The main roadside assistance service in our state.) Of course not! Obvious thing to do, once she mentioned it, but it hadn't even occurred to me! I had everything I needed - a spare tyre, a jack, and the other things necessary were all in the boot of my car, all I needed was to either give it a go myself, or have someone come to help me.
So my Mum, my hero, began the ring around. She rang my Dad, who was able to come out, and she rang my sister so she could ring me and chat to make sure I was okay while I waited for Dad.
Dad arrived with a high-vis type jacket, a torch, and parked his car behind mine so that his headlights gave us light to see. I let him take charge and watched him change the tyre for me, trying to help as much as I could. Which hopefully means if this ever happens to me again, I will feel confident changing the tyre myself! Dad followed me to make sure I got home, then headed home himself.
The whole incident made me wonder, though. Mum is usually the first person I call on when I'm worried about something. But what if I'd been interstate or overseas? Would I still have wanted to call Mum? Would I have had someone more locally I could call for help or advice? Would I have felt guilty calling a friend to ask for help, even though I would be willing to get a call for help from a friend myself? Would I have remembered I had a roadside assistance company I could call?
Who do you call when you have no network of people to help and support you?
When something bizarre happened in Spain, when I couldn't call Mum, and I had to make it through explaining what had happened in Spanish to get help, I managed. When I was pet sitting and the dog and the cat got out of the house, I managed to get them both back. But it is very interesting to see that in some cases all that experience and independence flies out the window, and I need to talk to my Mum.
If you're like me, you now have the Ghostbusters song in your head. I'm sorry/you're welcome!
Most of the time I feel like a capable adult. Then something happens which I've never experienced before, and suddenly I feel like a child again!
Recently I was driving home at night and I could hear an odd noise coming from my car. I thought it was an engine noise, so I was driving slower than the speed limit and trying to work it out when it started to sound like it was coming from further back in the car.
Then, about five minutes short of reaching home, there was a horrible bang, and I immediately pulled off the side of the road. I got out of the car, and to my relief and horror found that my back driver's side tyre had blown. Relief, because it wasn't the engine and would be fixable. Horror because I've never changed a tyre, it was dark (no streetlights) and a bit cold, and I didn't know what to do.
In panic, I called my Mum.
Even though I knew she wouldn't be able to come, she was still the first person I called for help. And she did help. Just talking to her calmed me down a bit. Her first question? 'Have you called the RAA?' (The main roadside assistance service in our state.) Of course not! Obvious thing to do, once she mentioned it, but it hadn't even occurred to me! I had everything I needed - a spare tyre, a jack, and the other things necessary were all in the boot of my car, all I needed was to either give it a go myself, or have someone come to help me.
So my Mum, my hero, began the ring around. She rang my Dad, who was able to come out, and she rang my sister so she could ring me and chat to make sure I was okay while I waited for Dad.
Dad arrived with a high-vis type jacket, a torch, and parked his car behind mine so that his headlights gave us light to see. I let him take charge and watched him change the tyre for me, trying to help as much as I could. Which hopefully means if this ever happens to me again, I will feel confident changing the tyre myself! Dad followed me to make sure I got home, then headed home himself.
The whole incident made me wonder, though. Mum is usually the first person I call on when I'm worried about something. But what if I'd been interstate or overseas? Would I still have wanted to call Mum? Would I have had someone more locally I could call for help or advice? Would I have felt guilty calling a friend to ask for help, even though I would be willing to get a call for help from a friend myself? Would I have remembered I had a roadside assistance company I could call?
Who do you call when you have no network of people to help and support you?
When something bizarre happened in Spain, when I couldn't call Mum, and I had to make it through explaining what had happened in Spanish to get help, I managed. When I was pet sitting and the dog and the cat got out of the house, I managed to get them both back. But it is very interesting to see that in some cases all that experience and independence flies out the window, and I need to talk to my Mum.
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