Out of Tune(s)

It was a bright warm Sunday afternoon. The kind of day that beckons you to wash the car. But not by hand. No...this was the kind of day that found us running through the automatic car wash while we waited on our to-go order to be completed by our favorite Mexican restaurant. The four of us were together, laughing and chatting...and listening to music. My husband put the debit card in the machine and chose the Ultra Wash. $8 worth of frothy clean. I never choose this wash. I always go for the $5 economy wash, but hey, what's the harm in a little indulgence now and then. Settled in the cozy dim bubbly light, Hillary and I opened books to get in a few pages during our wait. Parker and Yancy watched the spinning brushes...commenting on whether or not they were actually touching the car and wondering if they were on sensors or just permanently set. Water poured over the car, rinsing off the grime of the last few week's weather.
Then the blower came down.
It was much closer to the car than the brushes had been.
Yancy and Parker decided this part definitely had to be on a sensor.
And as it slowly moved over the hood, windshield, and cab, Yancy said, "Uh oh." "What's wrong?" I asked. "I forgot to turn off the radio."
I fumbled for the off button, but it was too late. The blower slid right down the back window, effectively maiming our erect antena.
I thought the kids were going to die laughing.
And I have to admit, the look on Yancy's face as the broken antena swayed at an awkward crooked angle WAS pretty funny.
Not so funny today when the mechanic told me we could get a used antena from the salvage yard for $100 (plus $25 for labor). Or we could get a brand new one for twice that price. Our $8 car wash just turned into a $125 car wash.
Needless to say, we will have to wait a few days on this non-essential car repair. So for the time being, we are a family in total harmony...but temporarily tuneless!