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Being couped up — not allowed to drive herself anywhere, and not able to go anywhere without her child for more than an hour or two (for breastfeeding reasons) — is a new and frustrating experience for Megan. Dylan is only 2 weeks old and already the cabin fever is setting in.

So, on Tuesday we decided to run a few quick errands together — all 3 of us. We got Dylan situated in his adorable little car seat, strapped him into my truck, and headed off to the bank. Megan went in to deposit some checks and stretch her legs, and I stayed out with Dylan in the car. Then it was off to Giant to pick up a few groceries. This leg of our trip would take a little longer than running in to use the ATM though, so I killed the engine but left the key turned so that I could keep my heated seat and the radio on. Whoops!

As it turns out Megan had her seat turned on too, and between them they managed to drain the battery pretty well while she was inside. About a half hour later Megan came out with our groceries, and we quickly realized we were stuck. The engine was belaboredly ker-chunking, but would not turn over. Without jumper cables (lesson learned! picking those up soon!), we had no choice but to call for help and hope someone could get close enough to give us a jump-start.

Our insurance agent informed us that either a tow-away or a jumpstart service would be covered, but of course the mechanic we called didn't have jumper cables. (wtf?)

Luckily, Susan was only a 10 minute load-up and 10 minute drive away, and she had jumper cables. We apologized and thanked her profusely, and she was on her way out to save us. Then there was just the matter of getting an empty spot close enough to be jumped. As luck would have it, the woman parked nose-to-nose with us was ready to leave within a few minutes. I asked if she happened to have jumper cables (she didn't) and then stood guard in her vacant spot, explaining to passersby that I was saving it to "get a jump" and couldn't let them park there.

Within a few frostbitten toes, an older gentleman walked by and happened to have jumper cables and a kind heart. While he pulled his well-loved red Dodge Ram around, Megan called off her sister — who by this time was only a few blocks away — and within a minute we were running again.

Next time, maybe I'll just get the milk myself.