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juthwaraIt's been a hard year. It started out homesick and lonely, and progressed to gut-wrenching grief, which I can't say was an improvement at all. In the face of that, it's easy to overlook the good things in my life.
There are any number of things I have to be grateful for: a husband and daughter who love me and are healthy, a supportive and loving extended family, enough money for food, shelter and transportation even if it's tight, a job I really like, two of the world's most cuddly cats.
But today, I'm feeling the deep gratitude that comes with a potential disaster averted. I was driving to a doctor's appointment this afternoon when I thought I heard a pop coming from the direction of the car's wheels. But nothing seemed different, so I continued on until I heard the ominous flapping noise that I know all too well - a flat tire.
It was at that point I realized a few things:
1. I was already running late for my appointment
2. I didn't have my cell phone
3. Not that it really mattered because I didn't have the money to renew my AAA membership last month so I had let it expire until the credit card rolled over to a new billing cycle, which of course would be today.
4. It was raining.
5. I was screwed.
At that point, since pulling over wouldn't accomplish anything except leaving me stranded at the side of the road, I decided that since I was less than a half a mile from the doctor's office, I would just drive there slowly and at least I would be someplace out of the rain with phones, so I could figure out what to do while staying dry. So I putted along, annoying everyone behind me. With the doctor's office in sight, I suddenly spotted a garage on my side of the road. Hurrah! I pulled in, ran in and told the nice man behind the desk I had a flat tire and an appointment, so could I leave the car to get the tire changed? I then ran to my appointment, mentally trying to calculate how much of the money we had budgeted to pay for Christmas presents and moving expenses would now go to fixing the car. The last time I drove on a flat tire, we were out over $100 between the cost of the new tire and the extortionate dealer's charge to put it on. That is not a trivial amount of money for us this month.
But when I returned, I discovered they had fixed the tire and put it back on. Total cost? $15.
I'm so incredibly grateful that it was so easy and inexpensive to fix what could have made a supremely miserable afternoon. The last time I had a flat tire, I remember the beefy man from AAA using all of his strength and weight trying to turn the lugnuts that had been tightened at the factory, so I have very little confidence that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
longstrider and I would have been able to change the tire ourselves, simply because I'm not sure we're strong enough. So the expenses may well have included a tow truck to help put on the spare tire.
And tomorrow, I'm going to renew my AAA membership. Being grateful doesn't mean I'm going to press my luck.
There are any number of things I have to be grateful for: a husband and daughter who love me and are healthy, a supportive and loving extended family, enough money for food, shelter and transportation even if it's tight, a job I really like, two of the world's most cuddly cats.
But today, I'm feeling the deep gratitude that comes with a potential disaster averted. I was driving to a doctor's appointment this afternoon when I thought I heard a pop coming from the direction of the car's wheels. But nothing seemed different, so I continued on until I heard the ominous flapping noise that I know all too well - a flat tire.
It was at that point I realized a few things:
1. I was already running late for my appointment
2. I didn't have my cell phone
3. Not that it really mattered because I didn't have the money to renew my AAA membership last month so I had let it expire until the credit card rolled over to a new billing cycle, which of course would be today.
4. It was raining.
5. I was screwed.
At that point, since pulling over wouldn't accomplish anything except leaving me stranded at the side of the road, I decided that since I was less than a half a mile from the doctor's office, I would just drive there slowly and at least I would be someplace out of the rain with phones, so I could figure out what to do while staying dry. So I putted along, annoying everyone behind me. With the doctor's office in sight, I suddenly spotted a garage on my side of the road. Hurrah! I pulled in, ran in and told the nice man behind the desk I had a flat tire and an appointment, so could I leave the car to get the tire changed? I then ran to my appointment, mentally trying to calculate how much of the money we had budgeted to pay for Christmas presents and moving expenses would now go to fixing the car. The last time I drove on a flat tire, we were out over $100 between the cost of the new tire and the extortionate dealer's charge to put it on. That is not a trivial amount of money for us this month.
But when I returned, I discovered they had fixed the tire and put it back on. Total cost? $15.
I'm so incredibly grateful that it was so easy and inexpensive to fix what could have made a supremely miserable afternoon. The last time I had a flat tire, I remember the beefy man from AAA using all of his strength and weight trying to turn the lugnuts that had been tightened at the factory, so I have very little confidence that
longstrider and I would have been able to change the tire ourselves, simply because I'm not sure we're strong enough. So the expenses may well have included a tow truck to help put on the spare tire. And tomorrow, I'm going to renew my AAA membership. Being grateful doesn't mean I'm going to press my luck.
