Sharon
Suspended Vacation
This week was my vacation from work. I knew last Friday that things were not going to go as planned, and entertained the thought of working the week instead of taking it off. But once home, I changed my mind. Let me explain:
The Friday of my friend's funeral, my SUV began blinking the "O/D off" light on the dash board. I was concerned, but didn't notice anything different in the way it drove. I called my bro, the mechanic, and he said it was the transmission and I should get it to him asap. I had noticed that it drove much rougher than usual and I knew the brakes needed replacing. So last Wednesday, I dropped the Explorer off with him. Monday was a holiday, so everybody was off work. I talked to bro and he said my Explorer didn't need a new transmission, just some kind of thingy that goes in it. I also needed all new brake pads and front rotars, and tons of other little things. He estimated the total cost at $1400. Ugh...I immediately thought that I could not afford both (repairs & vacation). So I broke the news to the kids, which they were okay with, and we cancelled our vacation plans. I decided to stay home with them Tuesday. By Wednesday, Explorer wasn't ready yet. Apparently, bro stays really busy in the shop and had other cars in line to do. He said he'd put a rush on mine.
By now, I've decided to just take my whole week and not go back to work. Although, each time I checked my work email, the work was piling up for me. So I responded to a few, made a few changes on the Web for them, and then promised I would try testing our new prod server on Friday (from home). I was spending more time on the laptop than with family. But the boys were fully engaged in either GTA on Xbox 360, or "Runscape" on the PC. I barely got to interrupt them with the occasional food break!
So Thursday, my Explorer is repaired and ready. I pick it up and pay out $1513 (seems they found one other "little" thing to fix.) I leave my daughter's Camry so he can fix her A/C. Driving the Explorer home was like driving it new again. I was so smooth and would stop "on a dime". Really nice....guess I should enjoy it since it cost me our vacation! Camry is still undiagnosed. Wish me luck on that one. I hope it's easy & cheap.
So, I've spent my week on the laptop, reading, and watching a couple of movies. I have finished 3 books: Losing It by Vallerie Bertinelli, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, and The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. I don't think it's any coincidence that I read these books when I did. I've had two of them for over a year and had no interest in picking them up to read, but now I felt compelled to. And so glad I did. We always have something to learn and something that we need to do to move forward. The movies, on the other hand, was just for pure entertainment. I watched "Into the Wild" movie made from the book I just read (really good), "Cloverfield" which was intense the whole movie, and "Knocked Up" that was funny, yet totally unrealistic.
So, I wouldn't say my vacation at home with a broke SUV was a bust. It now runs great, I had time to spend at home with the family, and read some great books...and sleep in late and hang out in pj's most of day! :)
~peace~