Held hostage by a car

Let me begin by saying that I hate old cars. Ok, hate may be a bit strong. Dislike might be a better word. Held hostage would also be appropriate. The good news is that the jumpstart AAA gave my van's old battery the other day has sufficiently worked, so that I should be able to return the new battery that I purchased unused and get a refund. The bad news is that the first problem that caused my battery to die is back. There is a short circuit somewhere in the wiring that keeps the rear brake lights on, even when the car is off. So after frantically looking without success for a garage that could remedy the problem at 1 PM on the Saturday of a long weekend, I am forced into a makeshift solution.
In order to prevent the battery from dying again I must remove the fuse that powers the brake lights when the car is off, and plug it in again before I need to go somewhere. Then unplug the fuse again when I have reached my destination. I must repeat this procedure as many times as necessary until at least Tuesday, when I will be able to schedule an appointment at the garage I use for car repairs. Hopefully I can get an early appointment, but we'll see.

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8 days. I am getting prepared for the longest week of my life. Then things will get interesting, in a really good way.

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The kids and I did some errands yesterday and some today. Then we spent a very nice two hours poolside. The water was comfortable considering that it was a cool mid 80's type of day. I got to wear the swim trunks my kids got me for my birthday and break in the swim goggles that I bought last week. For me, there's something to being able to see while swimming underwater without exposing my eyes to harmful batches of pool chemicals.