Being a wimpy girl really stinks!

I'm very disappointed in myself.  :(
Hmph.

I don't like feeling helpless. I would like to think I'm scrappy, resourceful, and strong, and can handle just about anything given the time to build up the courage and/or mentally come up with a solution.

But this morning, I have realized I'm not all that amazing. (little reminders like that are good, but this time I wish I could have fixed my own problem)

All I have is a stupid flat tire. Not flat as in 'low'. No, flat to the rim. I'm not dumb enough to drive it on the snow and ice like that to have it fixed. So it has to remain in my driveway until the new tire is on.

My 'driveway' is gravel, and has three inches of snow on it. Hmmm.. What to do, what to do! Can you jack it up on icy rocks? (in fact you can, but even the guy who helped me said he was afraid the jack would slip.)

I'm such a nerd. I am reading this book, How to build a fire and other things your Grandpa knew how to do - and one of the chapters is about changing a tire. So I look that up. (ironically, I read that chapter last week.)

Okay. I go out to the car. I put a rock under the opposite diagonal tire,

and clear out the 'trunk' to find the jack and lower the tire down from  under the car. Check. (Oh, did I mention the temp is like, -6???) My hands are frozen. And the back hatch keeps shutting on my head. The hydraulics are out apparently. I hope just because of the cold, because if the back hatch is broken now, that would be frustrating.

Anyway, there it is, the handle in the back carpet - all I have to do is pull on that handle to lift the back flap to reveal the jack and the lever for the crank to lower the tire.

I'm so embarrassed saying this, but I can't even get the dang handle to open!!! Grrr!! I try it with my ski gloves on. I take them off and try it with bare frozen fingers. Still can't get it. I try to push on the lever of the handle with the ice scraper. (leverage, ya know?) Still nothing.

Good gosh. I'm glad I'm not alone!! (I mean, I am right now, but help will be coming to the house eventually) Please tell me the handle that is flush to the floorboard of the truck is frozen. Cause if I am just so helpless that I can't even do that, I'm in trouble! Well, the service guy shows up, and, (sigh of relief), the handle on the floorboard WAS frozen. It took him, a prying tool, and a small grunt to get it unstuck. Whew. Less embarrassing. ;)

Half way through talking me through the process, (I told him I wanted to stay and watch and learn) he starts laughing. He is sliding the jack under the car, so I didn't see what was so funny. "What?" I said.
He was laughing that I said I was so embarrassed. He said, "If you were 6'2", 260 pounds and you still couldn't change your tire, that would be embarrassing."

So, since I don't fit that description at all.... I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. Like Jason (the guy who changed the tire) said, too bad it wasn't 80 degrees out - the whole process would have been easier. But, I sure did learn a lot. Oh! And he asked me as he was doing the lug nuts if I knew about the star pattern. I was quite proud of my self when I said, "Yep, I sure do." (smile) Small proud moment in a morning of almost zero personal accomplishment! ;)