Finished, but with Some Silver Linings....

This has been one of those days that has just about gotten the best of me.  Stick a fork in me, folks....I'm so done! 

Started out early since I was scheduled to cover floor calls at the office from 8:30 - 11:30.  Eddie was off today, so he headed out before 8:00 to drop Jake at the groomer's shop.  At 8:15, he phoned.  His truck "broke" as he was pulling out of the parking lot across town after leaving Jake.  Literally, it "broke" with a loud pop as he tried to turn the wheels and he lost all steering ability.  He was stranded in the middle of the parking lot. 

Jane to the Rescue!!!  I finished throwing on clothes, loaded up for the office and headed out to wait with him for the tow truck.  It was a woeful sight when I arrived......

Front tires should NOT be pointing two different directions!

Getting her loaded up

Such a sad sight...the pocketbook had begun to silently weep at this point...

The tow truck driver got him loaded up and we followed the truck to our favorite mechanic's shop.  (With our older cars, and my son's 12-year old Altima, we are on a first name basis - his is Jimmy.)  Then I dropped my beloved hubby back here at the house, running only about an hour late to the office. 

Before I could get out of the driveway, I got a call back from an agent to whom I had taken an offer for a client yesterday.  Not good news....no, not good, at all.  The seller had gotten two identical offers on the same day and rather than incite a "bidding war", this 83-year old woman just "picked one"....and it wasn't ours.  Boo, hiss!  Such a disappointment and not a thing we can do about it. 

Pick myself up, dust myself off and move on.....to the office.  Probably the most peaceful couple of hours in my day.  Accomplished a lot, but a glitch with the printer at work meant I couldn't print envelopes for several letters I had prepared today.  So, when my allotted time to serve was over, I headed back to the house to print the envelopes here. 

Meanwhile, my mother phoned this morning and informed me that her 4-year old phone, which we gave her and still carry on our plan, was just about dead.  Wouldn't hold a charge for more than about 10-15 minutes.  I finished what I needed to get done here at the house and went over to pick her up to go to the phone store....and then the bank....and finally to Happy Hour at Sonic, of course.  

Here's where it gets somewhat interesting (because I know you're shaking your head and wondering, "How on earth does she get a post out of this???").  Do you know how difficult it is getting to find a "simple" phone that is not "smart".  Honestly, they just don't make many "dumb" phones anymore.  But, we needed something that simply phones and texts for Mom, preferably with an easy-to-use keyboard.  We finally found a model that was "modestly" priced and the polite young man at Verizon began to show my technically-challenged mother (nope-I-don't-want-a-computer-don't-need-a-computer-no-way-no-how-Becky) how to use it.  God bless him!  That's all I can say.  It was so different to operate than her old one and it was frustrating for her.  At one point, when he was showing her how to unlock the phone, she stopped him and asked "And where is that "any" key you keep talking about?"!!!  (Yes, she did....and it kinda threw me.  I just had to wrap my arm around her shoulder, smile and say "I love ya, Mom".)  But, that kid hung in there and I can safely say that she is already messaging me - with photos!  (Maybe I shouldn't have shown her how to do that......my bad.)

Highlights (and silver linings) of this day......

We found a fabulous new groomer for Jake!  And that boy does love his "spa day".  They put a bright yellow bandana on him, so now he is prancing around like a movie star. 

I look handsome, yes, I do!!!

 I didn't lose my patience and snap at anybody, at any point, during this trying day.  I'd better a big gold star on my chart for this!

The truck repair turned out to be much simpler than we anticipated.  We thought the steering arm was snapped, but it was just a tie rod.  The cost for towing, repair and realignment of the front end came in under $250 - and that is a huge blessing.  The big red beast is already back in the driveway.  And, we are so thankful that the steering didn't go out when we were going down the highway at 70 mph! 

My mother is exploring and playing with her new phone like a kid with a new toy. We can now share pictures in messages with her, and she with us, opening up a whole new frontier.

And, now to top it all off, my man is in the kitchen, cooking up a dinner that smells de-lish!

All in all, one of those days that brings you home feeling a little flustered....and a lot tired.

Feeling blessed through it all......