Sometimes life is fighting the monotony, but sometimes life gives us a “bang!” Sometimes the “bang” can be a new exciting change, but other times it is a large, unexpected challenge. I will tell you about my “bang” day and what I learned from it. But first, a little context…
I had been thrilled to accept a part-time position at the local YMCA in the babysitting area, but a week or two had passed and I was still waiting to start training. So, as I entered a new week, I was hopeful that something would start at the Y, but planned some other things just in case. My sister-in-law and her hubby came in to visit at the beginning of the week to bring us their old sectional couch (what a blessing!), and then we got a call from the oral surgeon that Brian could get off the waiting list and have his wisdom teeth removed on Wednesday. Also earlier that week, my friend, Jess, and I continued our challenge to try to encourage or bring a meal to someone in need of encouragement, once a week. This week we had planned to make chilli and cornbread and deliver it with a card to someone about 20 minutes outside of town. Then, I got the call I had been waiting for from the YMCA that I could start training Wednesday, Thursday, and later, sub on Friday. I was excited, but starting to feel a little bit of the fullness of the week. The night before I was to start at the Y, I had the typical mini meltdown to my hubby of “what if I can’t balance it all??? What if I am being unfair to Aurora??? What if I’m just not cut out for this???” to which he reassured me and we headed to bed to get a full night’s rest before the next day. That night, though, began three nights of Aurora, due to a growth spurt or teething, regressing back to the same sleeping pattern she had when she was a almost a newborn. Let me just tell you, that when I woke up that first morning as a zombie looking at a first day of work and adjustment for Aurora, making food for our church friend, and leading our kids group that night, I told God that there was no way that I could do it all without Him! He helped me not only survive, but have two, hard, but good days.
And that takes us to Friday…
Friday I woke up feeling a little more rested, but still pretty darn wiped from balancing home chores, loving Aurora and the other kids at the Y, caring for my drugged and debilitated husband (four wisdom teeth and a growth on his tongue), and keeping up with the other daily activities. I got Aurora dressed and we tackled a full morning of feeding snacks, playing games, settling disputes, wiping tears, changing diapers, and just loving kids (with Aurora balanced on my hip almost half the day). I headed out the door at 12:30 with everything packed in the car to take the chilli over (as I hadn’t had the time to since Wednesday). I turned the ignition, and nothing happened. Bummed, but actually pretty calm, considering, I headed back inside to try to make some calls. Brian didn’t answer his phone, and wouldn’t have been able to help anyway since his car was still at the dental office where I had picked him up the other day. So, I called our friends who lived a block from the Y for just one more day (they were moving farther out on Saturday), and Jess was able to send over her husband who is normally away during the day because of a traveling job (Isn’t that God’s grace?!). The car took a bit to jump, but within a few minutes Aurora and I were off to auto zone to make sure all was well.
The auto zone employee said everything looked normal and I had probably just left my lights on. I decided to continue in my plan to drive to Mentone so that I could charge the battery further during the drive and not let the food get too old. I planned to leave the car on when I got to the house, run in and give food and a hug, and then head off toward home to nap Aurora and give my hubby some TLC. Sadly, things didn’t go as planned.
After leaving this sweet lady’s house, I noticed a light flashing on the car panel that I didn’t recognize. Again, by God’s grace, I decided to loop back to the town and see what was up. I flagged over a poor, unsuspecting man at a gas station, and pathetically explained, “Would you happen to know what this flashing light means? I can’t seem to find my husband’s owner manual and I don’t want to mess up the car!” He urgently insisted that I turn off the car, and explained that the car was drastically overheated. I tried to soak up as much information from him before letting him leave, and then located the owner’s manual to study and piece together the rest. The gas station manager begrudgingly agreed to “allow” me to leave my car in their lot with the hood up, and with the help of another flagged over family and a call to Jess’ husband, Mike, I managed to isolate the problem, choose a coolant type, pay the outrageous ten dollars, find where to pour it, and successfully fill it. VICTORY!!! I know near nothing about cars so this was quite the accomplishment! So with Aurora asleep in the car seat, I happily began the ride home.
But our car troubles weren’t over yet.
Two minutes outside of town, the gauge dropped again, and the warning light started flashing. I pulled into a driveway, and knowing something worse was going on than what a little antifreeze could fix, I called AAA (thanks, mom!). Since we were outside of town, and the pick up was red flagged because of the cold, I decided to just hang there since the wait was not expected to be long. Aurora was awake again at this time and snuggled into my coat since I couldn’t turn the heat on for obvious reasons. So there I played with Aurora with random objects in the car, fed her, and kept her happy…for an hour! I was freezing, but she actually had a great time! ahh..the ironies of life.
Finally, the tow truck guy arrived–who I am actually friends with now because he has towed us so many times–and I felt warm for the first time in 2 hours (heat…you don’t know how much you miss it until it is gone…). After a drop off at the car repair shop, a pick up from two very helpful teenage guys from my church, a drop off at our car at the dental office, a drive home (where I inhaled cold, stale McDonald’s fries from a bag in the car)…I finally walked through the door to tell the story to my surprised and very apologetic husband.
So what did I learn from a day where a “bang” becomes a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day”?
God always gives us what we need for whatever challenges come our way.
He gave me support from church family when biological family was unavailable. He gave me a happy or sleeping baby in the moments when a crying baby would have brought me to tears. He gave me a phone conversation from my sister, my friend, and my mentor, in between stressful times to keep my spirit up. He gave me the wisdom to pull over and check the light, rather than likely ruin the engine during the long drive home. He gave me helpful gas station customers in a town where no one knew of a car repair place in the area that I could use as a security blanket. He gave me peace that I know was from Him because I could not have been as peaceful as I was…as tired as I was…with as many different quick decisions as I needed to make…in the cold…with a baby…with everyone I normally depended on in a different town…without Him giving me that peace. He then gave me the strength to come home, care for a baby, care for a still-wiped hubby, make a meal, and help our fantastic friends move the next day.
He truly gives us what we need…even on a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
Confessions of a Restless Mom 