Everyone always says you get lots of blessings from having family serve missions. Since our parents and Marshall's parents are both serving missions. I always joke that we will get double the blessings. (Secretly I think that life should be perfect with that many blessings-everything always will go the right way how I would want it or am planning on it.) Well our car, the Camry Wagon, has been acting funny lately. One day it started blowing smoke out the vents while James and I were driving on the free way. I thought it was the radiator but the temperature gage said it was normal (and the gage works). Then it's been kind of stinky after every time I drive it. Almost like there is a leak and it's burning on the engine. We haven't noticed any low fluid levels though. So I've kept driving it around town but have been cautious to drive anywhere too far. I've been wanting to visit Grandma Jarvis but have worried that the car won't make it.
Today I drove it to Wal Mart and it drove fine to get there. When I got in the car to leave I pushed in the brake and I had to push it all the way down before it worked. I thought to myself that it seemed wrong and abnormal. So I drove around the parking lot and realized my brakes were bad. I could stop but only if I was going slow and pushed the pedal all the way. There is a Checker Auto Parts in the parking lot. Being one who knows nothing about cars, I called Marshall to double check that "Brake fluid" is really a fluid. (Maybe this is due to the jokes about blinker fluid) I bought some and filled it up. The reservoir wasn't completely empty but low. After filling it up I drove the car out of the parking lot and realized that filling it up hadn't helped at all! So I traveled very slowly down the road until I got to a parking lot. I was barely able to stop the car at this point. I called Marshall and he instructed me on pumping the brakes after filling it up. So I had to pump the brakes and then go put more fluid in because the level would drop each time. So I finally get it to stay full and the brake pedal is firm and braking with light pressure- not having to push the pedal all the way down. So I get in the car to drive away and the pedal pressure breaks and the pedal sinks all the way to the floor again. I have Marshall on the phone this whole time and he told me to look and see if there was a leak. I look under the car and sure enough there was a huge puddle of fluid.
Marshall works far and doesn't get off for a couple more hours so I knew I couldn't wait for him to give me a ride. I called my neighbor and she was nice enough to load her two kids in her car and come pick James and me up.
All in all I've realized that we will be blessed for having parents on a mission but that doesn't mean we won't have trials or problems. We still receive blessings. I was blessed that the brakes went out in the parking lot and not on a busy freeway or road. Even though I won't get to go see Grandma I'm glad I didn't try driving to her house or I'd be stranded a lot farther from home where it would be harder to get help from neighbors.
Thank goodness for the little blessings in life that get us through.
Kasey and Andrea - I don't know how you do it living so far away from family. Normally when we have problems - no matter what the problems are- we call our parents. They are close enough that they can usually help. Now that both are parents are gone we have relied more on neighbors. You've lived away from both sets of parents and never complain. You are a great example!
