Always Look on the Bright Side of Life… especially when you are in the middle of “The Threes”

ONE: It was LONG overdue for the van’s oil change. Before handing over the keys to the dealership, I had one additional request. A funny noise had been sounding every time I turned the steering wheel. I asked if they could check it, that we were pretty sure it was a slipping belt. Over an hour had past while I waited in the lobby and watched the first reports on Haiti’s earthquake aftermath. I was so engrossed in the news that I didn’t even realize the service representative sitting right next to me. The look on his face told me it was not pretty. The fluid from the power steering had leaked which caused the noise as well as damaged the mechanism all together. It had to be replaced which would cost over a thousand dollars. I dreaded the next thing I had to do – call Scott and break the news to him. The last thing I ever want to do is cause him additional stress while on the road. He wasn’t thrilled, but handled it with ease. As I waited for a rental car, I kept reminding myself things could be much worse – especially in wake of what just happened to Haiti. As I opened the mail that afternoon, I could not believe my eyes. Apparently we paid more than we should have for our escrow and our mortgage company had sent a reimbursement check which was more than enough to pay for the van repair. (Thank you, Lord!)

TWO: Not just a week later as the temperature started to warm up (for ONLY a few days), our house felt stuffy. After checking the thermostat, I realized the air conditioner was not on… in fact, it dawned on me that the two weeks prior of freezing Florida temps, I didn’t recall the heater coming on it all… which would explain why the kids and I were freezing at night. I had just chalked it up to our Florida home not being able to handle this kind of cold for so long. Long story, short – a wire had rubbed a hole in one of the tubes allowing the freon to escape – AGAIN. (We have an AC lemon – once or twice a year our unit breaks down!) Yes, it was frustrating, especially since it is a recurring issue, but we were so grateful that (1) it broke down in the winter! Normally it is smack dab in the middle of July and takes a few days for them to fix it. And (2) the remaining money left over from the reimbursement check helped ease the over $700 bill. (Thank you, Lord!)

AND THREE: Within days of the AC issue, our washer decided to quit. Scott and I were actually excited about this for different reasons. Scott was ready for a better washing machine. The past couple of years it just wasn’t doing a great job. I too wanted cleaner clothes, but fell in love with the front loaders with pedestals. After hours of research, Scott uncovered what I did not want to hear – the front loaders have a huge history of mildew and repair problems. Plus after measuring our laundry space only to find out I would lose hanging space, I gave up form for function. We purchased Speed Queens thanks to Scott’s quest in finding the best, long lasting, best warranty and dependable washers and dryers around. (This company supplies washer and dryers for all the hotels (Disney included) and laundry mats.) The best part was the price. For less than the same price as the front loader alone, we were able to get the largest top of the line Speed Queen’s washer and dryer. That still had to come out of pocket, but overall it was still a good deal. (Thank you, Lord!)