Busy Week!

Lots of news for the blog today. I took my mom to the doctor Monday and he sent her to the hospital for double pneumonia. She went in Monday night and didn't get out until yesterday morning. She's anemic and had to get two units of blood as well. I've been going to work each day and to the hospital each evening for 4 or 5 hours. She was sent with orders that she's not to be left home alone because they are afraid she will fall and break a bone. Today was my last day teaching summer school so I will be home Monday through Friday for the rest of the month with a few exceptions to help her. My brothers and SIL are going to help out. I'm going to take a couple Saturdays off from Wal-Mart...I have nearly 67 sick hours that I can use. I have to miss 2 days to use sick hours for one day and I already called in last week so I'm calling in tomorrow. Mom needs someone with her and I need a break from Wal-Mart!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention her nurse's aid the other night....his name was Billy and he's about 25. He reminds me of George from Grey's Anatomy for some reason. He was her nurse's aid a couple years ago too. When she first learned his name was Billy, she told him that she has a son named Billy. He walked out of the room, and she says to me: "I wish my Billy was that sweet!" Billy the nurse's aid replies: "I heard that!"

On a happier note, my car is healthy again! Well, as healthy as a 23 year old rusty Chevy can be! :) I didn't get to take it in until yesterday since Mom was in the hospital all week. As I'm coming into the shop, Vince says "well, there she is!" like they were wondering what took me so long to get back....or maybe they thought I decided to go back to the IN shop. I tell them about Mom. Then I tell them the IN shop's explanation for the wire running across the front of the car. Robby (who'd helped put the radiator in) said that I wouldn't have made it a half mile w/o the fan being hooked up, much less used the car for 6 months without a problem. Roger adds that the thermostat had just been replaced in October too. Then he asks me where my sister lives....he's seen my brothers, but not her (he went to school w/ my brother Billy)....see what I mean about these guys being like family? Actually, I trust Dave (the owner) and his mechanics more with my car than I trust my own brothers with it.

I've been a regular customer ever since I started driving and my dad was a regular customer when Dave's dad owned the place. They've had plenty of chances to "put the screws" to me, but have always treated me fair. A couple years ago, I was in a town about 30 miles away when thought I saw a little puff of smoke come out from under the hood. Then my radio and turn signals stopped working....at first I thought the smoke must have been my imagination and I'd just blown a fuse. So I keep driving towards home.....then my gas gauge startes to drop....my 3/4 of a tank of gas now appears to be 1/4...and DROPPING! I had no cell phone at the time, so I stop at a gas station 15 miles from home and call to tell my mom that I'm on my way home and that if I don't show up within a half hour to send someone looking for me. I didn't know what was going...I figured that the wiring was causing the turn signals and radio to fail, but I didn't know about the gas gauge. I thought the wiring was completely shot and it would costs hundreds of dollars to repair, if it could be repaired. I took it in the next day because they had already closed. When I went back to pick it up, I was prepaired to spend at least $300. Anyone wanna guess how much it cost? Anybody? Well, just let me say that I nearly fainted when they told me.......It was only $30.xx!!! All it was was a $5 ground wire! They could have made a bundle off of me that day, but they were honest.

Well back to the present, today's repair was $112.52 which was cheaper than I expected and that was with an oil change. And it was because of the IN shop's mistakes! According to Vince, when the carburator was rebuilt the fan relay was broken and the wire was put on to bypass it. The car wouldn't turn off because of the fuel intake taking in too much gas which had to do with the carburator being rebuilt.... *sigh* I knew I should have went with my first instinct and left the IN shop as soon as I saw the new mechanics and new signs! That's exaclty what I told Dave when I paid the bill today. He shook my hand, said that I've been a customer for years, thanked me for my business, and gave me a business card with the Ky shop info on it as well as his own cell phone number. I told him that I would have never went to the IN shop if I had known that it wasn't his anymore. I asked him if the other guys told him that I literally left his ex-wife's shop and came to his. He said they did and he thought his ex-wife's mechanics would have treated me better than they did. He asked me to help spread the word that his shop's now only in KY, the same guys are there and they can do twice as much as the IN shop. I told him that I would and assured him that being 8 miles away from my house (instead of 2 blocks) wouldn't mean he'd lose my business. We talked for a few more minutes and I mentioned that I felt bad for his kids. I don't think it's ever easy being a child of divorce no matter how old you are (they are 19-26)...but to be in a business with your mom that's in competition with your own dad? I don't know anything about why they divorced, but I wouldn't want to be in their kids' shoes. To top it off, the oldest daughter just got married last fall and she's already getting divorced! What I didn't tell him is that I felt really bad for him as well as his kids. He lost his wife, half of his business and I'm sure the relationship with the three kids must be strained...at best. I don't know how to explain it....have you ever just felt a strong need to pray for someone and you're not exactly sure why? Well this is how I've felt for the last week or two. I don't know if it's for Dave, his kids, the ex-wife or all of them! I guess the best thing is do is pray for them all!

Oh, the best news of the week! I just found out a couple hours ago that one of my best friends (met her at my first birthday party!) is expectly her 4th child!! Her kids are 15, 12, and 10 so this is a little suprise!

Moral of this long rambling post: Don't take the people in your life for granted...whether it's your mama, your siblings, your best friends, good hospital employees, or knowlegable honest mechanics!