The week commenced with this sweet girl turning 16. Sunday was a fabulous day! It was wonderful to have a day that was different from the monotony of every other day that blurs into each other while staying home 24/7. As the last post details, we ate out for the first time (curbside pick up) and surprised Chloe with a car on this special day. She spent the next 4 days learning how to drive a manual transmission car. She succeeded shockingly fast! She was very motivated.
And then on Thursday, this happened. Chloe and I were coming back from another run around the neighborhood (and by run, I mean in the car, not on our own two legs) when it stalled out at a stop sign around the corner from the house. The engine turned over, but never started. We weren't too worried at first. You expect little problems in an old car. We'd just bring it to our mechanic and get it fixed. That is until the mechanic called back and gave us bad news, "It's the engine. You need a new one. The timing chain within the engine caused valve damage. It's going to cost $4000 to fix." *SIGH* That's more than we paid for the car. So...great birthday present.
We called the guy we bought it from and he said to bring it to him. That he wants to try to make this right. That happens on Monday. We'll see how this works out. Chloe is taking it well, although really misses driving Jax (the name she picked for it). On the up side, the mechanic said that even if we had brought it in to him to inspect before we bought it, he said it would have passed beautifully. It needed a few small repairs, nothing costly. It was a great car. We just had bad luck. Timing belt issues seem to plague us. We had two other cars throughout our marriage this also happened to. I guess you'll hear how this saga ends during next week's update.
One take away from the whole situation so far is, we can't control what happened, but we can control our reaction to it. We've chosen not to worry, not to be angry, not to blame anybody. It was just bad luck, plain and simple. Things will work out, they always do; just maybe not the way you thought they would, or planned they would, or wanted them to. That's why we have to live with our hands open. We can't hold on too tightly. We have to stay open and flexible and bend to life.
In other news....Chuck and the kids finished this puzzle. I've learned that I'm not a "puzzle person." It's best for all of us for me to stay far away from this activity. We also still play the daily game (or 7) of darts and the nightly game of spike ball.
Have I mentioned recently how I have the most amazing husband in the whole wide world? Well if not, you're in for a treat. On Wednesday, we scrapped the Menu and he created a little oasis in our room for just he and I to have a little date night. Is that not the most romantic thing?!
We had the joy of 2 whole uninterrupted hours locked in our room, away from the kids, to just sit and talk about any and everything and play games (this one is cribbage, one of my favorites). I have really missed going out on dates. During house arrest, you are forced to get creative because life becomes so mundane without the variety of life that comes with being out and about and around other people.
The Grass Monster strikes again! This girl. EVERY. DAY! She loves rolling all around the grass and then expects to come in. She sits there and barks at us like, "Hey, I said I wanted to come in. What don't you understand?" She's clueless about her 'situation.' I used to brush her off like 10 times a day. Bennett couldn't stand brushing her anymore and resorted to blowing her off with the leaf blower. Much more efficient!
Because of the above picture. She was treated to a nice outdoor bath to help make her smell like a lady again. She did not appreciate the fact that she's the only one of us who are able to 'get our hair done' during this stay-at-home-period.
Because it was a beautiful day, and because we are expecting more bad weather next week, we took a drive up to Horsetooth Reservoir and got out to breathe in the fresh mountain air and take a few pix. I just adore this guy. It still feels like we're just playing house.
I wanted to try out what all the cool kids are doing.
As for this week's book, Bennett and I are reading "The Poisonwood Bible." He's reading it for Lit class and I'm just plain late to the party. He told me I would love it and that might have just been the biggest understatement he's ever made! I usually fly through books. But this one. This! One! It has some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read. The story itself is incredible. The characters are so perfectly written and expressed. I adore this book, the story, the message, the characters, the Congolese people. Why didn't I read it years ago?! I'm almost finished, but not in a hurry. I want it to last as long as possible because I know I'll be so sad when it's over.
The kids started back to school this week, except for it was all online. The first 3 weeks was an extended Spring Break. But now they're back to business. I think they secretly enjoy having something they have to do. They both have expressed the sentiment, "I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss school."
I have to keep reminding myself of this. And because it's important, I will keep you abreast of our weekly weather situation. I'm pleased to say we had mostly sunny skies with a high in the mid-70s. Happy Days. There were a few scattered partly cloudy days, but by then, my tan was improving and it didn't get me as down as it usually does.
