Sunday, July 31, 2011

How To Keep Two Flat Tires In Perspective

In June, while on his way to pick up Squirrel from college, Pooldad experienced a flat tire from a nail.  Since he had to be at JMU and move her out by 5 pm he was a bit stressed when it occurred 30 minutes from her exit at 2:30.  The topper to the flat was the spare was also flat and Pooldad only had $100 on him. We had no idea where to get the tire fixed or how much it would cost.  Happily a very nice man came along, inflated the spare and sent Pooldad on his way.  The tire was later repaired at Wal Mart for $65.00.

Fast forward to Father's Day and :boom!: same thing happens on the way to taking his Dad to a National's game.  This time the spare was fine but the bolts on the tire were damaged and they had to wait on AAA to remove the tire. Again, Wal Mart to the rescue for $65.00.

We had the other two tires changed, with warranty, so we are good to go for a while.

Yesterday, while driving around with her Daddy, Wallene called to tell me a rock had hit the windshield and cracked it.  She said it really scared the heck out of her and I told her I had to agree as I had had it happen to me before.  The windshield will have to be repaired [replaced], but it will be a while until that is done. We can still see through it.

Now, why am I telling you this?  Because it seems like our van problems are replicating life's bumps in the road.  Doesn't it?  When you fix one problem, along comes another, then another, but to keep moving forward you have to figure out the solution to the problem otherwise you are without the means to spur you forward.

I don't think I do analogies very well, but it fits in this case.  A flat tire isn't the end of the world, but without those tires our world would come to a screeching halt, wouldn't it?

Everyone has a whole lot more in their lives than the occasional flat tire or cracked windshield and not all those things can be fixed so easily, but they will eventually work themselves out. Trust me.

You just have to work at it one wheel at a time.

11 comments:

colenic said...

Love this...love you and your positive perspective on life...hugs to you hope you are well on this last day of July!!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Yeah I agree life has many bumbs in the road or should that me flat tires here and there with the occassional cracked windscreen but we just fix the problem and keep on living unless the crack in the windscreen is caused by a bullet which goes through the windscreen and hits ya in the head and kills you then life doesn't go on........sorry just had to add that...yes I have a strange mind at times......yell I have a strange mind most of the time.........lol

Juli said...

LOVE THIS.

:)

Now I must go inspect my tires... They keep telling me they want something to eat. :)

Teresa said...

Sometimes, those bumps on the road of life can really mold us into the individuals that we're supposed to be. If we choose to let them. Or, we can choose to let them mold us into individuals that we don't really want to be. All about choices. Right?

Lyndylou said...

This is so true. I am constantly lurching from one problem to another, hoping that it will pass.

Great post :)

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi Skippy! That was a very good analogy my friend and, you're right, life does have many bumps and detours, and we just have to deal with it one tyre at a time. That's all we can do! Good post today, and your positive approach was uplifting and should serve as a lesson to us all. Hugs.

Yum Yucky said...

I love this, too. I've also had a "car door falling off the hinge" issue in the past, which also replicated a life moment. Gah! But so glad the flat tires you were talking about weren't my boobs. I thought you were teasing me. ;)

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Your analogy is spot on. Some people try to ignore those flat tires and keep driving until the sparks are flying. Guess that means it's best to tackle the problems as they come, because chances are, they ain't gonna fix themselves.

Jeannie said...

Walmart also has emergency tire fix cans. My husband has used them. They don't cost that much. I don't think we can get tires for %65 here. Ever. Even Walmart.

I don't like break down analogies. We have numerous breakdowns every week with one piece of equipment or another. Put it this way - we have a mechanic on retainer. And we still need other mechanics.

But yes, despite the stress of needing to deal with a situation - because face it - breakdowns never happen unless you are trying to get somewhere - usually things are fairly simple to take care of - if costly - and we move on without another thought.

Tracy said...

A lot of insurance companies will pay to have the windshield crack fixed to keep it from spreading for free because that is so much cheaper than a new windshield. My husband had a chip and it cost $50 and then the insurance company sent us a check for $50. You might see if your company is like that.

Celia said...

Ugh! It's always something with those darn vehicles. Glad you are staying positive.