My lucky day called in sick without notice—again

 Back in the 1970s, there was a show on TV called “Hee Haw.” 
My great-aunts and my grandmother never missed an episode.
One of the songs they sang has stayed stuck in my head all these years.

After today, I’m starting to think maybe it might just be my theme song:

"Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me"

We got in the car this morning to head to town, but all we heard was click, click, click. 
The motor refused to turn over. 
By the time Cowboy finished looking things over and realized it wasn’t something he could fix, it was already too late to make the trip to the store.

Since Raven’s heading to the other parent’s house early tomorrow, Cowboy gave his work truck a quick cleanout, and we ran up to the Dollar Store for Eins’s birthday card.
We’ll be in town tomorrow, but Raven had said that he was going to the other parent’s as soon as he got off work and got cleaned up.
We should still be in town when he leaves, so I needed to buy the card today.

Raven told me that Eins had been asking where his birthday card was. 
Drei got one, but he didn’t. 
I felt bad about it, but Raven wasn’t coming to my house around the time of Eins’s birthday, so I couldn’t give him one in person. 
About a week before, I’d texted Raven asking for their mailing address, but he wouldn’t share it. 
Without that, I couldn’t get a card to Eins in time. 
I did post birthday wishes on Cowboy’s Facebook page, hoping Raven would show them to him.
“Facebook” wishes aren’t quite the same as a real card, especially not one with a ten tucked inside.

We came home, and Cowboy shoved me out at the door. 
I came inside and called to reschedule my doctor’s appointment.
I was supposed to go on Monday, but I’m not getting on that interstate in that old truck.
Cowboy drives a stick shift, and with the arthritis in his knees and the pain in his feet, pressing the clutch and moving between pedals has become difficult and painful.
He keeps saying he needs to trade it in for an automatic, but I don’t think he’s ready to admit that driving a manual isn’t as easy for him as it once was.

Cowboy went to see if one of the men he knew who used to work on cars could work on the car. 
But the ones he once knew have reached retirement age themselves.
He had to admit defeat. 
He came home, fed his chickens, and came inside.
I was watching my TV series when he barged in on me.
He wanted me to text Heron at work to find out where he got his car repaired.
As it was lunchtime, and they are a pizzeria, we assumed he was busy with the lunch crowd.
We never got an answer.
Luckily, Cowboy knew the rough area where that shop was, so I pulled up the area on Google Maps, and we took a virtual tour of the road.
He recognized the building, so I clicked on it, and that gave me the name, address, and phone number.
He called, and they said to bring it in now.
So Cowboy called a tow truck, and the little red car is going to the repair shop.
Fingers crossed it’s a simple fix, and we hope it’s inexpensive.

We only shop from Thursday to Thursday, so Badger had to scramble to pull together dinner today. 
She came up with what we’ll call freezer desperation casserole, and it turned out darn tasty.
As for Cowboy, I’m not sure what he packed for lunch. 
He mentioned being out of bread, so I suspect he may have tossed a can of soup into his lunchbox.

After Cowboy went to work, Badger and I walked down to the library and back, just to get out of the house. 
When we got home, Badger took Duffy and went to sit in the backyard for a while.

Raven likes to eat his supper while watching anime, which kind of throws off the routine Badger and I had settled into. 
On the days she felt social, she and I would watch TV after Cowboy went to work.

Since anime isn’t really our thing, we usually let Raven enjoy it on his own.

There’s always an adjustment when a household member comes back after being away. 
I really can’t remember the last time Raven lived here; at least not since August. 
He was gone long enough for Badger and me to establish a new routine.

Raven works third shift, so it wasn’t long before he went to bed.
That meant we got the TV back.
I don’t mean to be rude or sound like I don’t love Raven; it’s just that Badger and I have our own rhythm in the evenings, a loose routine we’ve settled into.

With Cowboy gone all night and the boys, Peacock (34), Raven (32), and Heron (29), moved out, it’s mostly been just Badger (23) and me home alone together for a long time.

We watched a few episodes of our TV series, and now I think we’ll head to bed.
I’m afraid of jinxing myself, but we’re going to try to go to the store tomorrow.
The truck has issues, like refusing to start occasionally.
There have been bloody cow heads in the bed of that truck, along with garbage, and we probably don’t want to know what else.
Our groceries will be in bags, but the thought of what was in there is a little hard to forget.
Then poor Badger has to sit hunched over in the jump seat, and I’m kind of hunched over in the front seat.
Let’s just say riding in that darn truck is no fun.
And it stinks, really stinks, like the plant.
For now, it’s all we have unless we take a bike, and it’s twelve miles to town.
I’ve got my fingers crossed for smooth sailing tomorrow.
As the song says, if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.