Car troubles can be a pain. I dropped quite a bit of money buying myself a catalytic converter this week. Merry Christmas to Fizzy and me. And, seriously, a catalytic converter really does nothing for the performance of my car, as I understand it. I just need it to get the engine light off so I can get my car emission-tested so I can spend another bit of money to get a one inch by one inch sticker to put on my license plate. I seriously considered taking a black Sharpie and outlining the engine light on the glass to obscure it, but then I figured that just was not the right thing to do. Besides, it probably would not have worked anyway and I could not deal with the embarrassment of "getting caught."
While my car was in the shop, MP became my Uber driver. Now, it is true, that we spend quite a bit of time together during normal times, but I got even more time with her and Violet during those few days of not having a car. Apparently, not only are catalytic converters (I just love saying that ~ exquisite alliteration) expensive, they take a bit of time to find and acquire. But, my car was ready in time for me to take Mom to the beauty shop yesterday, so I had it by the time I needed it. Mr. L was in Utah over the weekend so I used his car then. And, did I mention, time with my daughter and granddaughter? It worked out beautifully.
Yesterday morning, I got a call from Marshall saying his truck was broken and he had left it at the shop, walked to Chick - Fil -A and was waiting for Sheri to pick him up and bring him to my house. He asked if I minded his hanging out with me. Seriously, did I mind? I loved the thought. It turned out that MP was actually right down the street from where Marshall was, so she picked him up and brought him here. He went with me to take Nunny to the beauty shop, so she had the opportunity to see him as well. It worked out beautifully. I took Marsh to get his truck. It was a simple fix and a beautiful morning.
Oops, his truck was not fixed. He called me this morning a little before 6:00 and, in a cheerful voice, said, "what are you doing this morning?" Turns out he was on his way to work when the battery light came on again. He turned around and headed for the car repair place. His truck died in the road in front of the place; he got it started long enough to limp it into the parking lot, where he waited for me to pick him up. Talk about working out perfectly.
He is working in Franklin the next couple of weeks, so we drove there, enjoying our time together. Because he was not driving and was observing the route he told me to take, he realized that he had been going a really strange way to get to the job site. He figured out a way to get there that will be much more direct and quicker. This would not have happened had his truck not failed him this morning. Future drives to the jobsite will be much more efficient. Well, that worked out rather well.
We got to his job, I dropped him off and left. As is typical, I took a wrong turn. I was in great fear that I would end up in Columbia, like I did back in the summer when I took a similar wrong turn. I don't think of myself as a stupid person, but directions stymie me....every time. I was talking to Mr. L when I realized that I was lost. He was trying to figure out what direction I was headed and when I called myself an idiot about directions, he said, "well, when it comes to directions, you're not bright." That was such a lovely and gracious understatement of fact. After I hung up from him, I realized where I was. Certainly, I had gone quite a bit out of my way, but I was back on track and feeling very puffed up by my success. Soon, Marshall's phone begins to ring. He had left it in my car. It's been a hectic morning for him. It was where I could not reach it and so I turned into the next street. Lo' and behold, it was the street where I was supposed to be. Now, I've been driving about 10 minutes and I was right back where I started. Of course, I realized that Marshall needed his phone, so I drove straight back, straight back, people, to where I had left him to deliver his phone. He asked if I had had to go too far out of my way and I could honestly say, "nope, I was just around the corner." Getting lost made it all work out perfectly.
So far, the rest of my morning has been excellent as well, spent with MP, Simeon (he's sick), and Violet, buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts for Nunny. That's about the only thing I have heard her say that she has a hankering for. So, all the "inconveniences" and car trouble and direction challenges worked together to give me greatly enjoyed time with my adult children. I don't like spending money on car repairs. It feels like there is nothing to show for it. Something beautiful would be much more fun. But, I still have a place to live and I will still eat (too much), and I still have clothes to wear. In the words of Mr. L, "the money won't matter in five years," it won't matter next week. But, what will matter next week and in five years is the time I get to spend with those I love. Not all things work out like we would like. Often, we can't see when things work out. But, in this week, with our inconveniences, it worked out beautifully, and I am grateful on so many levels.
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