A Year Got Scared Off My Life Last Night...

[LeeAndra]

BF and I went to a baseball game last night. I hate watching baseball, but a girl from work had asked me (and the rest of the office) to come out & BF loves baseball & I thought it would be good for me to get out considering how craptastic this week has been and work on my small talk in awkward situations skills.

The game was fine. We sat on the lawn, and I didn't even have to watch. BF and the girl from work and her friend had a great time chatting with one another and I popped in as often as I could and when I thought to do it. I had to drive us home, abt a 25 minute drive, as BF had had a couple beers at the ballpark.

Abt 10 minutes out of downtown... the sky rips open. I am literally driving through a wall of rain being blown sideways by the wind. I'm creeping behind the car in front of me, which has its blinkers on, and we're crawling up one of the main drags of town at approximately 15 mph. Oh my Lord, was I FREAKED OUT. I was literally praying out loud, 'Please, Jesus, don't let us die or my car get stuck in the water.' over and over again.

I pulled off to regroup abt 15 minutes and 3 miles later and take a back way home. The side road, after just 25 minutes of rain, was already so flooded over that we had to turn back. Two cars were stuck in the middle of it already! We almost got stuck in the water ourselves in two different places on the main drag, but I just kept my foot on the pedal nice 'n' steady and prayed aloud like a crazy woman and BF rubbed my back and we made it through.

This is the point where I almost smacked BF through the windshield. He TURNS UP THE RADIO as I'm again poking my way down the main drag. HELLO?! We are in the middle of some freak impossible in the Midwest monsoon, and you need some musical accompaniment to the Twilight Zone sounds beating down on the windows of my car?!?! I DON'T THINK SO. I do not want to die with Rihanna's 'Take A Bow' running through my head!

[Oh yeah, did I mention that I completely lose all sense of reality and reason when I have to drive in inclement weather? Like if it's raining a little too hard, I start to freak.]

I did realize in the midst of things that I was beginning to panic, but you know what? BF couldn't drive, so it was up to me to save us from Noah's Flood II, and so I was going to do things the way I wanted and he could just kiss it if he wanted to complain.

This is the point where I almost smacked BF through the windshield... again. Before the storm, we had decided to go to one of his fave bars for drinks 'n' snacks since neither of us had had dinner before the ballgame. Of course, I had assumed, being a normal human being, that once the onslaught of water descended upon us, we'd be making our way to my house ASAP to avoid, oh, say DEATH and DEBILITATING INJURY. Noooo, BF insists that we might as well go to the bar since we're almost there and 'what are we going to do at [your] house, anyways, but sit around and be bored?'

I'm pretty sure I'll win the Nobel Prize next year for this, ladies, as I have to park four blocks away from this bar and then walk in the storm with my pitiful umbrella while BF is SKIPPING ahead of me and saying, 'C'mon, it's just a little frickin' rain. I used to live in Florida. I've been through a hurricane. It's just rain. No biggie. Have some fun!'

Uh yeah, 'cause I think it's so AWESOME to be sitting in a bar at 11 pm soaking wet from my calves down and shivering in my tanktop and flipflops while you nosh on boneless wings. Let's do that for your birthday in a couple weeks, too, okay? Freakin' whee!

*lol* I guess I didn't hide those feelings well as the waiter, after taking our drink orders, turned to BF and said, 'Hey, man. What did you do? Make sure you tell me so that I don't ever do that to my girl.'

Of course, the electricity goes out 5 minutes after we get our bill and BF wants to pay by credit card. At this point, I'm so stressed out and tired and cold that I start laughing. BF gives me a strange look before calling the waiter over who says he'll talk to his manager abt what to do. After seeing the manager on a cordless phone asking what to do with all these college kids in the bar with no electricity, BF and the waiter work out that BF will give Waiter 10 bucks and Waiter will 'make the bill disappear.' *lol* Can you believe that?! The bill was only 15 bucks, so I didn't feel too bad, but still... I was too exhausted to argue and definitely didn't want to wait in the bar until the power came back on.

After another three detours from high water and/or debris in the road, we made it home. BF was asleep next to me when I parked the car in front of my apartment. I have never been so thankful to see my ghetto-tastic apartment building.

I hope all my other Midwestern gurlies stayed safe and dry in their houses last night! I had enough 'excitement' for all y'all.

[junebug]

crazy wasn't it? I got scared so we drove to my dad's house in Fulton (about 25-30 minutes away, lol) He has a basement. we don't. a few minutes on the road and we heard them say on the radio that Howard county should proceed to take shelter. we missed the worse of it, just saw some cool lightening on the way to Dad's. we left arond 11. I was sure that my house would be gone, or that the big tree would have fallen on it. It was fine. rained and thundered a little off and on for the rest of the night but that was it. I think the worse of it was around Lafayette. Glad you got out alive, girl!

[my3hens]

Wow honey thats SOOOO scary!! I hate driving in the rain, I hate driving period and I would have felt the same way! You a trooper girly, I am sorry that it turned out to be such an ordeal. Hugs!!!

[EveRecinella]

I don't blame ya on the Rhianna thing! Girl, you should write for a living cause that story was funny! lol

[Shawna]

That happened to me earlier this week driving home from the grocery store! I absolutely hate driving in rain and of course right as I'm leaving the store it starts pouring so hard! I thought about waiting it out a bit but I had cold stuff that needed to be put in the fridge & freezer so I went ahead and left but I could barely see in front of me. Luckily it was pretty late so there weren't many people out so I didn't have to worry about crossing the center line that I couldn't see and hitting someone head on! I was never so happy to pull into my own driveway lol!!

[tlcaudle]

I have been in situations like that. I hate driving in heavy rain, snow is even worse. I find sometimes the best thing to do, is to just pull over on some high ground, if you are lucky enough to find high ground, and wait it out. At least you made it through everything alright,

[joelsgirl]

You are so OTT, girl. I love it! And that man surely is lucky to be alive, thanks to your good driving skills AND your immense self control.

[lhaslem]

The lightening was crazy last night in Fishers....just nonstop - the whole sky just lit up like it was daylight there was so much lightening. Of course, Hayden thought it was daytime and he wanted to go out and play iN THE GIANT PUDDLES!

Glad you made it home safely...

[scrapmonkey]

I think I would have dropped him off at the bar and left him there to fend for himself.
I am very thankful my husband is not like that - he hates driving in inclement weather and respects my driving in it. One time we had a freak snowstorm as we got out of the movie theater about 30 miles from home. He asked me to drive us home because he knew I was better at driving in it than him (he grew up in Colorado for crying out loud). He made me more tense than normal because he was so tense, but he was very quiet and respectful the whole trip (except for the occasional comments about the maniacs trying to go 55+ mph when there was so little visibility and the highway wasn't plowed).
Thankfully you (and your BF) made it back in one piece.

[meems]

yikes! I hate driving in rain too.

but 'tis a funny story . . . can you scrap it

you should have your own column.

[scrappycharmer]

Sorry that happened to you but I agree with meems...your story had me laughing (at the way you tell it) I can feel for you - I hate to drive just at night period - so throw some flippin rain in there and NO THANKS! Glad you are safe and sound!!!

[uptowngirl]

girl that story cracked me up!! noah's flood II!!

boys are so so silly... i probably would have smacked him too... next time leave him at the bar! :P

[newfiemountiewife]

Ughhhhhh Men!

I hate driving in the rain, it sucks!

[Brooke W]

I agree with the girls, the way you wrote it had me laughing as well,lol. Frankly, I'm surprised the BF is still alive,lol.
I'd have been petrified to drive in that. I don't see that well at night, so my dh does all the driving. Mix that in with the bad storm and you'd have had me to bury.