Inconvenience and praise

The last thing I wanted to do today was sit in the Walmart parking lot with two bored girls waiting for a tow truck. I thought I was going up there to get the oil changed in the Suburban and then I'd be on my way to finish the rest of my errands (run to base, deliver a CD of pictures, get paid for said pictures (which was an unexpected blessing itself), shred some papers at Josh's office with their Super Shredder, turn our DVR in to our cable company, drop off some donated items at a charity downtown, and pick up some things at the Post Office). But God had other plans.

The girls and I ate breakfast in Walmart while we were waiting for the car to be done. I felt so white-trash-ish eating a McDonald's breakfast while walking around Walmart, but it was early in the morning and not many people were there. After 20 minutes of walking around I heard them call my name over the store intercom and just knew they had some kind of problem with my car.

Yep. They didn't have the oil filter in stock. So I just decided to leave and get the oil changed somewhere else. Got the girls strapped in the car, hopped in the driver's seat, and pressed the brake pedal to shift into reverse. Only when I pressed the brakes, they went all the way to the floor. SO not normal. I tried them again. And again. And for half a second, I considered leaving anyway. But they just didn't seem normal to me. And my stubborn streak took over and I just knew one of the Walmart mechanics did something to the brakes accidentally and I was NOT going to leave that parking lot without telling someone OFF.

Okay, not really. But I did go back inside and get the manager and she called over the chief mechanic and we all went back out to the car. I popped the hood so they could look at who-knows-what and I suddenly noticed a big puddle by my left front tire. Brake fluid. Leaking.

Suddenly I was thankful for my stubbornness. Suddenly I was very thankful that I didn't just leave anyway and think the brakes would be fine. And I was thankful we had not canceled our AAA policy yet. See, kids? Procrastination is GOOD.

I called Josh, told him what happened, then politely told the Walmart guy that No, I would not be driving my car to the nearest mechanic WITHOUT ANY BRAKES, thanks for the suggestion.

The tow truck showed up within 40 minutes of me calling AAA and we had the Suburban towed to a nearby mechanic we'd been to before. So now we're down to one car with me still needing to go drop off donated stuff, go to the post office, and turn in the DVR. But at least I delivered the CD and got paid (twice as much as I expected, which will pay for a new UNchipped 50mm lens!) and we are all safe and sound. Praise God, praise GOD! Oh, and our other car has good brakes.