Isn’t it amazing how the smallest things can throw a person off their game. Today it was taking our car into the shop. I suppose it’s unusual to be attached to a hunk of metal but this car is special. It’s our (mine and DH’s) first car together. She (yes, she’s a she and she has a name) is a good car. An SUV in fact, who hauls around us and all our stuff and our dog. And the only time she complains is when she’s hungry. She’s reliable and loyal… she’s only ever broken down once and that was after an 11 hour drive (b/c someone didn’t tighten a screw on her clutch plate enough.) Yes, I’m  a walking billboard/saleswoman for this car.

I’ve had people chase me into stores before to ask me about her. They drive gas guzzlers, she gets 28 MPG. She’s roomy and even has a tray under the passenger’s seat (for make-up, maps or whatever else).

But lately I’ve been hearing this click-click-click sound that I find annoying. DH, of course, cannot hear said click-click-click sound. Then this weekend she got… louder. And she started to vibrate. And her engine revved more than usual.

So into the shop she went. Several hours later, the diagnosis was made. Bad timing belt (they were amazed it hadn’t come apart), cracked other belts, bad water pump and needed new rear breaks. Oh the agony. My poor baby. I feel like a bad parent. Like I neglected her. And then of course there’s the bill. I’m sure when I’m old (and wealthy) I’ll look back and laugh at the Christmas where we had the ginormous car bill 8 days before Christmas.

But as I wrung my hands and worried, I realized that overall, everything is just peachy. My car’s getting fixed. I have the money to pay for it. I won’t have to go into debt. And I even had time (which I never do) to read a whole Writing magazine…make ideas for the new year, and complete the quiz. The fact that I missed lunch, well, that’ll just jumpstart my New Year’s goal of trimming down and toning up!

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