No, that isn’t a typo.   Mine is a family that suffers from allergies.  I have been plagued with this my entire life.  Weeds, dust, pollen, molds, yeast, dogs, cats, even paper particles.  (I know…strange.)  My poor son sniffles and sneezes from seasonal allergies.  We keep over the counter allergy medicine in the cupboard at all times.

Which brings me to my daughter.  She has an allergy that is a little more difficult to stock over the counter solutions for.   She is allergic to cars.    No, not cats…cars.

I got one of those dreaded phone calls today. I had spent a fantastic weekend hanging out with my daughter, enjoying the Billy Joel and Elton John concert.  (The boys still got it after all these years!)  She had stayed over an additional day to hang out with her brother some more.  (She gets points for that.)  She left to drive back over the mountains today on the five hour trek back to her home.  The phone rings way too early for it to be the call that she is almost home.  “Mom, guess what?? My car broke down again”.   What??  This is unbelievable!

In her career as a driver she has had to be towed four, no make that five times.   She has blown one engine, had one car accident, been through two cars, countless repairs and many hours in the company of a tow truck driver.

Today it appears that her timing belt broke and the pistons are damaged.  Can you say…new motor?    We had the car towed (for the second time today) to her home town and we will be securing a second opinion.  Not that I don’t trust the first mechanics opinion…but I think I just need a second person to tell me that the car no longer has a pulse.

This makes me sad.  Our car has a name.  He is Geno.  Geno has been with me for almost 10 years, and had taken us all over the country.  We have been to family weddings in Kansas, we have been on road trips through Montana to Colorado, he has taken us to Portland for multiple Christmas holidays.  He is Geno.  It breaks my heart to think about it…but I know in my heart that putting in a new motor isn’t reasonable.

If anyone knows of an over the counter remedy to help my daughter with this allergy, I would appreciate the information.   I think the best remedy is a bus pass.  Sorry kid!

Today the weather in Seattle is absolutely gorgeous.   I am enjoying it while I can.   Last week we had a sneak peak at the Fall weather that will be a consistent friend soon.  Cool.  Cloudy.  Rain.  I am sad.

I will look on the bright side, though.  The one thing that I really enjoy about Fall is the rotation of clothes in the closet.  I love Fall clothes.  The colors, the textures…the shoes!

This is also the last year of my daughters college education, and she is now firmly settled back in Spokane.  We have made it a tradition every year for me to join her in Spokane in October.  This tradition started out as a visit during parents week, attending the school plays, school activities, and sharing the college culture with parents.  It soon evolved into my arrival during parents week, but our NOT attending any of the carefully planned activities.  We learned that we just wanted to hang out with each other.  And, of course, we shopped.

This year will be our last October weekend together in Spokane.  I am already planning our shopping expedition.   I know that a girl can not have too many shoes, but is it possible for us to have too many boots?   I think not!