I am an idiot when it comes to cars.
Sunday, the oil change notification came on and I was also driving around with my check engine light illuminated for roughly 9 months, so Monday I went to a place to change the oil. That was roughly $100. On the way home, in the middle of the road, my car sputters and dies. (Insert expletive laden rant in front of the wide-eyed kids here) So, this is lovely, I have two fidgety, impatient kids in the car. I am stuck in the middle lane. Car dead, cars behind me honking, people speeding around me. It's a nightmare.
At least 5 minutes later. It barely starts but is running ROUGH. I limp to the top of the next hill and then it dies. Coasting down the hill, I see a service station at the bottom. I pull in and they tell me its $100 to take a look at it and then go from there. Ugh.
90 minutes later, they tell me that its gonna be $275 to fix some sensor that caused the check engine light plus the $100 for the diagnostic. Ugh. Another 90 minutes later, we walk out of there $412 poorer than when we walked in.
When you're in the beginning of the airline world, money is pretty tight because the paychecks are very small.
So, that was Monday. Yesterday, I am on airport reserve so I get to the airport, sat there for 8 hours and then took the shuttle back to my car. It's nearly 90 degrees outside. I get in, step on the brake. Push the button to start it.
Click.
Nothing.
In general, I am a pretty laid back guy. At this point, I am a pacing, ranting, sweaty, cussing, master of hatred. I lost all remnants of sanity. I call my dad and he walks me through what to do to try and get it started. No luck. I call a mobile mechanic (who knew these existed), and had him come over. All said and done, 3 hours later, I have a new battery and am another $200 lighter in my bank account.
After the dust settled, this made me think of how much I love the people around me. A couple years ago, my dad had a cancer scare. I can't imagine not being able to call him when things like this happen. I COMPLETELY lost it and he was, as he always is, the rock (not Dwayne Johnson, that wouldn't be possible and I would look a lot different than I do now). I got to go home to my wife, who is also a rock (again, not Dwayne Johnson) and just "be" as she comforted me and made me laugh and smile after an awful day. My family is my light when the darkness creeps in. I hope, one day, I am a good enough example, where my kids will think these things about me.
Not even 24 hours later, I have regained my sanity. Yeah, $700 in two days really sucks when that is a little less than half your monthly paycheck but I will make more money, I have my health, my kids' health, the job of my dreams, the wife of my dreams, my dog is awesome, and overall, life is really great.
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