Sometimes, it will feel like the universe is doing everything in its power to make each day more difficult than the previous. It’s important to remember you’re stronger than that. Put up a fight and try your best to not give up.
Last week was one of those weeks. Remember that great car I wrote about two columns ago? Yeah, well that car has a way of testing my patience.
As most car owners should, I took my car in for an oil change - hoping that would help it run a little bit better. It seemed like it did, at first. I left the service shop and went to the gas station to fill up my tank. As I got out of the car, I realized I had lost my wallet. I figured I left the wallet on the counter or it found its way out of my hands on the walk back to my car. I got back in the car, started it and nothing. My car wouldn’t start. I assumed the battery was dead. No matter how many times I jumped the battery, it wouldn’t hold the charge. I was stuck… at the gas pump - inconveniencing myself and everyone else trying to get gas.
Finally, after a few unsuccessful attempts and my patience running thin, I got the car to start and moved it into a parking spot. I don’t know much about cars but I figured a new battery was the solution to this problem.
At the time, this problem seemed much bigger than it was but in the grand scheme of things, it was a minor problem. I got a new battery for the car and crossed my fingers I wouldn’t have any more troubles.
The next day I was heading to Barriere for the weekend due to work. The car made it there without any problems. My mind was at ease. After I finished up work, I decided I would drive the 40 something minutes to Kamloops to the nearest TD bank to retrieve a new debit card and cancel the credit card that I lost. As soon as I got into the city, my car died… in the middle of the highway.
I panicked because it was rush hour and I was the guy holding everybody up. I think it took roughly three attempts to start it back up before it actually did. It would be fine but as soon as I hit a red light, the car would die again. I was able to get a new debit card but the evening resulted in getting my car towed back to Barriere. I didn’t trust it and I wasn’t about to get back on the highway with an unreliable vehicle.
I was incredibly overwhelmed and just about had enough. At the time, I was feeling defeated and couldn’t see past what was happening. What was my next move? It doesn’t seem logical to put more money into a vehicle than what you purchased it for.
Now that the weekend has passed and I am looking back on it, I wish I told myself that everything is okay and it is going to be okay. I have been faced with many challenges since I decided to do things on my own. I know that I am going to be faced with many more. I suppose this is the first time in my life where I don’t have things as easy as I did, but I am learning and navigating through the challenges the best I can.