Silver Lining

I've always been a glass half-empty kind of person. However, I've been trying to change that. Sometimes it takes me a little while to find a better perspective but it sure feels good to let a burden slip away. Prime example was this past Saturday - but I need to back it up a few weeks to tell the full story.

A little while back the brakes on my 4Runner started to grab. I took a look and realized that the wrong cap was on the brake fluid reservoir. Unfortunately, someone had deliberately stuffed a too-big cap on the reservoir. I assume this happened right before I bought it used about two years ago. So for two years moisture has been infiltrating the brake system. The end result was that the brake system was completely rusted out. Bottom line, after a huge repair bill, I had my truck back with new brakes. Fortunately, we had our tax refund to cover it though I intended the money to go elsewhere. The other blessing was that I was right next to the dealership when the brakes really locked and I was able to get it in for repairs. Finally, it was me driving - not Wendy or Amanda - so that was a relief.

Now back to the weekend. We were all loaded up to go on Saturday and on the way out of our neighborhood the engine just quit. Turns out the water pump had been leaking and the fluid had damaged some of the pulleys, etc in the front engine cover which caused the timing belt to snap. This will be another expensive repair and I was a bit frustrated at first. However, after a few minutes to calm down and the cheerfulness of a friend (whose house we broke down in front of) I was able to find the silver lining. First, I was driving - not Amanda or Wendy. It hadn't happened Thursday on the way to my retirement ceremony or on Friday when I went golfing with my Dad at Point Mallard. It happened in our neighborhood on a hill so it was easy to put it in neutral and park on the side with no pushing required. (I can only imagine the trauma if I had been in the left lane on 72 when it quit.) The tow truck was supposed to take an hour and a half but he happened to be in Madison on his way to South Huntsville so he came and picked up the truck on his way about 15 minutes after I called. So other than the unexpected cost and juggling vehicles for a few days, all in all it was really no big deal and there were tons of blessings for me to recognize. My glass was really more than half full.

The real payoff of my change in attitude was that it didn't ruin my day or my weekend. We still went out as a family and had a good day time Saturday. We still had a good dinner on Sunday with the missionaries. Twenty years ago I would have allowed this small little thing to ruin my week and Wendy's too. Maybe I am learning something...