To hell and back

The end of 2008 and the start of 2009 will go down in Dunkle family history as our descent into Car Hell.
As life events go, Car Hell does not rank among the worst. Surely, we are blessed, and if something must go wrong, I'll take it in the automotive department.
Still, the only way to move on from a mess is to try and make sense of it ... see how it fits into the grand scheme.
Car Hell began in mid-December with a smash not heard around our world.
You might think, two, big, yellow labs, who spend their days either sleeping or monitoring every movement within 90 feet of the house, would notice vandals smashing in the back windshield of their owner's car. But, you would be wrong.
You also might consider that it would have been much more appropriate for the vandals to choose the front windshield of our 20-year-old Volvo wagon, which was already cracked and needing replacement. But, no such luck.
Seventeen years in this house and the worst we've experienced was drunken college students making off with parts of our wooden fence, presumably for use as bonfire material.
So, cursing the vandals and counting our blessings, we pony up $350 to replace the windshield.
But, before we could get the Volvo to the body shop, the severe cold, which has yet to loosen its grip on South Dakota, stops the engine. Mechanic — $150.
The husband's Durango is next. Dead battery will not revive. New battery — $150.
Out $650 we don't have, but still counting blessings and looking on the bright side, wherever and whatever that might be.
Within days, we're back up to nearly a full fleet. Three of four cars are on the road, making this family with four drivers heading in different directions much happier.
Happiness is shortlived. Driver in morning traffic suddenly slams on brakes, Durango skids across black ice, slams into car and gets totaled. So much for the new battery. No injuries, though. Just a lot of cursing by other driver.
Lonely, unused 1988 Jeep hauled into action, but won't get going without a jump. Husband suspects alternator. Another bill looming, but a new day dawns in Car Hell. Bad battery still under warranty. This one's on the house.
I've been around long enough to know that life runs in cycles — the good, the bad, the ugly. The problem is, when you hit a good cycle, you tend to forget about the other possibilities.