The conclusion of the "Ultimate" Warranty Ultimare.

And thank goodness for that. I think that if it continued anymore, I'd start to be like I was that last term of student-teaching: not able to hold down food, constantly crying ... It wasn't good.

We had to tow the van to UHonda. Thank goodness for American Family Insurance. Seriously. We've got GOOD people. They've already sent off our reimbursement check for the tow (since we have Emergency Roadside Assistance).

WE were able to get a slightly older Odyssey, but with less mileage, AND a guarantee that if the transmission goes out in the next couple years or before 114,000 miles, it will be replaced by Honda. With a brand-new one, even.

They gave us an excellent trade-in value on the clunker. And we got quite a few apologies regarding the Ultimare ... apologies that, truly, the people at UHonda don't have to give. It wasn't their error ... Ultimate lied to people. They didn't keep the reserve they were required to ... And, well, yeah. the less said about them, the better. Unless it's YOU telling all your friends, family, associates, and enemies to avoid any warranties from Ultimate. Especially since they've been forbidden to sell any new policies.

I mean, really, the more I learn about it, it's like Enron ... but with the customers' money instead of the employees' retirement funds.

But, really, if you looked at our new van, you wouldn't guess that it's a different one. Same color, same everything, really. (Well, except year and there's no CD player. But I can still run my iPod through the cassette, so it's all cool.)

Thanks everyone for all your prayers and well-wishes. They've helped quite a bit.

Now I'm closing up. With this odd feeling (what is it? Relief, I think.), I'm exhausted. I'm going to take a bath.

Oh, and kudos to my kidlets ... for being at a car dealership for over four hours. They were really pretty good. They got bored, and a little loud, but I'm still really impressed. ^_^ And, being there so long, I totally NIPed. They needed food and comfort. And, rock on UHonda, no one said a thing. ^_^ Good for them!

And, funny thing to close with, before I forget to mention it: Bruise likes to hum as he nurses. It's recognizable as the ABC song or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He makes me laugh.