Small Joys

The radio in the Volvo had been "Off" for a couple of months now. My father had taken it in for repairs in June or July to his mechanic, and so when the mechanic disengaged the battery, we lost the radio. It said "Code" on it when we first turned the radio on afterward, but we had entered the wrong code three times and were banished into the land of "Off." So even when it was on it was off.

Once you are mired in Offland, the only remedy, according to the user's manual, is to leave the battery on for two hours until it resets. I kept this in mind for months but did not have the time to carry out the task. My mother had called the dealer to verify the code soon after, so we had the correct code for when we had the opportunity.

We had to drop off my brother last week after his little "vacation" due to his sprained ankle. We took two cars so he would have a car with which to get to work. My parents were in the Volvo. I remembered when we arrived at his apartment that if they had turned the radio on so it said "Off" we could have put in the code and got the radio to work (for the entire round trip takes about 2 and a half hours). We said next week. On Friday my father and I went to pick up my brother, and we thought of taking the Volvo, but my mother needed the car and so we took my father's car.

Finally, today, we were able to take the Volvo and we remembered to turn the radio on so we could reset it. We dropped off my brother while the engine was running. On the way back, with a half an hour left to go until the two hour mark, my mother reread the manual and double-checked the code to make absolutely sure what to do when the word "Code" should appear on the radio display. However, at the two hour mark, the radio did not reset. My mother had checked the manual again, and it somehow indicated that only the battery should be on (and not the engine). My father disagreed. We started to lose hope that we could get the radio working again. We would have to take it to the dealer. I was so sure at the start of the trip this would work, but this had completely baffled me.

For some reason I looked at the radio display from my position in the backseat. It said Code! I scream-stuttered to my mother that is said code, and instantly she put in the code and we waited...

The radio worked!

My mother gave me a high-five and we all laughed about how ridiculous this whole ordeal was. But it was really that small joy that made the entire trip worth it.