4 Days into the 21 Day challenge and I did not stick to my time limit today. Actually... I may have stuck to my time limit, but the truth is -- I don't know.
I left the house this morning to go to CVS and Safeway after putting Elijah down for his morning nap. We set the clocks back an hour last night, but a baby's inner clock is much stronger than any notion of daylight savings. Needless to say, he was up at the official time of quarter till 6 this morning and I got a fairly early start on my shopping. I was on a couponing high when I left CVS... a package of Huggies diapers, the women's new Schick Hydro razor, a package of replacement blades for the new razor and a package of replacement blades for Bob's razor, two cans of pumpkin and two cans of evaporated milk for a whopping out of pocket total of $15.15 and a $10 ECB reward for my next purchase!
I got in the car and headed north up I-5 towards Anderson where the Safeway is. It doesn't get more ironic than being on the phone with my best friend, talking about how we know my car is on it's last legs and our plan to start putting aside what we can for a down payment and then hopefully finding a new to us vehicle after the first of the year, when I felt something funny happen with my car. I looked down to see a warning light that said something about the battery no longer charging and then suddenly it was hard to steer! I got off the phone quickly (before you judge me, I was using my earpiece, I promise!) and was able to get off the freeway at the next exit that was coming up and parked in an empty area where I was safe and away from the 70+ mile an hour traffic.
I called my night in shining armor to come rescue me... (again). Ashlyn, my 9 year old daughter, was able to stay home with Elijah, our sleeping 16 month old, and Dannon rode with Bob in his work truck up the freeway to find me. The long story short is that my power steering belt had come off, and some other things or maybe multiple things broke and went wrong. Bob was able to drive the car home where it is now parked in our driveway and its not looking good mechanically. Sadface. This car has driven from Washington to Florida, from Florida to California and up and down the west coast I-5 corridor more times than I can count. With over 200,000 miles on the engine our best bet is to forgo trying to fix the poor thing and look into getting a new to us vehicle. We were hoping we could limp along for a few more months but after today's events its not looking likely.
This is a seriously stressful time for us. I long for the day that we are financially stable, and debt free even! But that day is not here yet. We are trying to recover still from poor financial choices we have each made in the past, and the financial issues that come from divorce. We're not "ready" to buy a new car but this is the situation we're facing. It has only been with grace and trust that I feel I have been able to handle this mess so well. I'm surprised actually. The me that I am used to would scream and be mad and cry. I would blame whoever I could remotely link to a responsibility for the situation. I would have a pity party over the path that has led us to this point. The awesome news is, I haven't! Instead I am so thankful that this didn't happen yesterday when we were an hour and a half away from home with the entire family. I am thankful that no one was hurt (though after the fact, I realized we would be better off financially if I had wrecked the darn thing and could file a claim with my insurance.) Most of all, I am thankful that Bob has a great job and even though it would help if our credit was in better shape, its looking like we will be able to get into a new vehicle quickly. My trailblazer is going to be a challenge. I owe more on it than it is worth, and it would be difficult for Bob to get financing if we were to try and roll the existing loan into the new vehicle loan but I am trying not to stress and worry. We will find a way to make it work. We always do. Today was an out of the ordinary kind of day. I spent a lot of time looking into our options at different dealerships online and running different searches, I feel like I did manage to keep my personal internet time under control and that feels good. I have learned that some days you need to accept the best you are able to give, and recognize the efforts even if you are short of reaching the goal. That was today for me.
Today's practical application says to take 15 minutes and make a list of all the good habits you want to develop and the bad habits you want to reverse, then prioritize and pick out the top 3 habits that would make the most difference. I am drained tonight, its been a very exhausting day but I am determined to get back on track tomorrow!
-{ Today I am thankful for our safety and that our car didn't break down when we were far from home }-
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