Stress and Blessings

It's official. I'm back in my slacker blogger stage. Sorry friends! I'll work on it.

I spent quite a while looking for a great video that illustrated part of my story. Unfortunately I didn't succeed. What story is this? The death of Hexadecimal. It's tragic really. My car is dead. She sits at my friends house. Barely a limp inside of her. I didn't know that I could be attached to a car. But I really am sad about this. And stressed. But even though I don't have a car right now I still feel very blessed. Let me tell you about the events surrounding Hex's death.

I went to a farewell Sunday. It was for one of my sons. (That needs some explanation. I'm in Institute Choir. They organize us into families to help keep track of everyone and foster a social environment. I was made a mom of a family. Hence having a son.) I am so excited for this son/friend of mine to serve his mission. He's going to the Greece Athens mission. I learned that this mission covers all of Greece and has exactly 5 branches in it. That translates to a lot of people for him to teach! There are a TON of people there who need the gospel. So after telling my son that I was dating his father, (that was really fun. He was very surprised and thought it was a joke at first. HA HA.) We (meaning Scuttle, another friend and I) left. It was a happy drive until we encountered an accident on the freeway. Hex then started to have problems. But I had no way to fix said problems and she was still moving forward quite well so we continued to travel. We made it up the first big hill up the canyon one must pass through to get back to my house. Then as we started up another hill Hex started making funny noises. And smelling funny. But she wasn't running hot. I was so confused. Then I realized that despite how much I was pushing on the gas pedal, she was slowing down. Oh dear. I pulled off the side of the road and wanted to cry.

This is when I became very grateful for cell phones. I made one call and got us a ride out of the canyon. (Thanks sis!) I then sent a text to a friend who was still in Church. Let's call him Mech. That's short for Mechanic. He's good like that to me. Mech and a friend then spent the rest of their Sunday evening getting Hex off of the mountain and getting her to start again.

Side note, I then took a cute picture with Scuttle. Well, not super cute because we were both SO tired and our smiles look pasty. But our clothes are cute. You can't see our clothes, but trust me, they are cute. :)

Mech and I spent a few hours and $140 doing all we could to breathe life back into Hex on Monday. All to no avail. She's dead. It's official.

So there has been a lot of stress. I really need a car. But I do need to keep telling myself of all the blessing that occurred through this.

1. Having Cell Phone Service: Really, I was in the canyon. Who has cell service in the canyon? I don't normally. But I did. So we didn't have to sit on the mountain forever.

2. (Warning intense smultz ahead) Scuttle's Support. I was really freaking out while sitting in the car waiting for L7 to come get us. Scuttle doesn't know anything about cars. But he tried so hard to help. He opened the hood of my car and remembered to turn on my hazards while I just sat there not knowing what to do. Then he tried to distract me with a game. When he realized I just wasn't up to it he stopped that. And then he just held my hand. I know, it's a little thing, but he was just doing what he could to support me. And I really appreciated it. I've been sick for the past week, and he's doing all he can to take care of me. Sick, stressed and freaking out. He just keeps being there and helping me. He doesn't do anything big. He's just there. Ok, sorry, end of the shmultz.

3. Sisters willing to drop everything for me. I don't know what L7 was up to when I sent out my distress call. But she was there picking us up in her very nice running car in about half an hour. That means she left her house very quickly after I called her. Thanks for dropping everything to come save me!

4. Mech and all of his work. Really. If I had paid someone to go tow my car to a shop and then the Mechanic who worked there it would have cost me close to $1000 to get Hex even moving again. But instead I had Mech and his friend. They were willing to work on Sunday. The ox was in the mire. And they did it because Mech is just that good of a friend. I had to pay for parts, I owe Mech a home cooked meal, and Mech's friend just wanted some doughnuts and chocolate milk. I feel very blessed to have a friend who would do all of that for me. He totally saved my hide. Oh, and to top it off, he's letting me drive his car today. Just so I don't have to walk to work. He has a dirt bike so he's freezing, but now I don't have to walk. What a good heart! I love my friends.

5. Loving parents who care about me from 4 states away. I called my parents crying a few times. I don't know exactly what is going to happen, but they are talking and trying to figure out a way to help me. I am so indebted to my parents. They taught me the gospel, they loved me, they taught me how to work, and they still take care of me. Even though I'm 25 and should be all sorts of self-sufficient. They love me enough to help this poor Paily girl in her times of need.

6. The Power of the Priesthood. I was SUPER stressed. I'm not a crier. But I probably cried for about 3 hours straight Monday night. My dear mother is a smart woman and told me I needed to get a blessing. Last night Scuttle and Mech served me in one more way. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and to have good friends who I love and trust who are willing to serve me in this way. Yes there are still problems. But I feel so much better.

Anyway, there is my current life. I know, long post. Not funny at all. But there you have it. It will all work out. Whew!