[a moment] i just couldn't deal with

[moment 65]

My bestie stopped by to pick up something from my house and brought with her a neon orange sticker that was on our rental car, parked down the street.

We live at the end of a dead end road. Three driveways emerge onto the road near our house, limiting on street parking. Adding to that, the only decent place to park near my house is the site of a fire hydrant, making it illegal. There is a turn around immediately before my driveway - no parking there, either. So if our driveway is full, as it was on that day, we need to park down the street. Because I have mobility issues, I parked in the nearest space available. 

Then my neighbor, fourteen hours after my rental car was parked there, reported it as an abandoned vehicle. It wasn't in front of his house. It was between his house and the next neighbor's house where no one ever parks. He doesn't like people parking near his house and this was his solution. 

The registered vehicle was parked on a public residential street for less than a day. 

Any other day I might have chalked it up to a crappy neighbor and dealt with it. Instead, I had an emotional and physical meltdown. I had a hemiplegic migraine at the time and was severely ill. I couldn't safely drive the car to move it. I didn't think it would make it into the driveway if I could. I called the number on the sticker and calmly asked for guidance. The officer didn't listen to me that it was reported as abandoned when it was not and told me over and over, interrupting when I tried to explain, there was a winter parking ban and my car would be towed if I left it on the street. 

I texted my husband. He called the police and was spoken to pleasantly and helpfully and was assured the car wouldn't be towed if we removed the sticker and moved it. They don't tow cars for overnight parking during a parking ban - you get a ticket. 

My amazing husband came home on his lunch break, helped me sort out the car situation, and we had lunch together. He returned to work and I sank into bed, relieved that the situation had been taken care of.