Happy Father's Day!

I've noticed in the blogging world that you get all these ideas of things to post about, you write them out and then you notice that your post is going off in another direction. Usually you stop, save that post, then write a completely different post that reflects your mood. Evidently I do this a lot because I have tons of saved drafts.
I started the following post several months ago, but I felt today was definitely an appropriate day as far as publishing.

I have had a horrible morning.

As soon as I saw the drastically flattened tire, I knew it needed air. So I waited the 30 minutes for our air compressor to fill and fixed the problem. 

After dropping Little Dude off late to school and coming home, I noticed it was going flat again. 

The flat tire has a screw poked through the tire and I can hear the air leaking around it. 

I realized that it obviously has a leak that was pretty dangerous to drive. I knew how to change the tire so I could drive somewhere safely to repair the tire.

This single flat tire now becomes four brand new tires because the others needed to be replaced.

I also broke my favorite pair of cheap sunglasses and my beloved tiger zoo cup exploded at the tire dealer.

I just spent more money than I had budgeted for this month, my sunglasses are crooked and I am still smiling. 

No, I haven't started drinking the wine...yet.

I'm happy because of something that happened many years ago, that enabled me to deal with this situation. 

My dad took the time to teach me some general car maintenance. He taught me how to jump start a car, change a tire, the oil, air filter, fuses and even spark plugs.

Yes, I have AAA, but sometimes it's just quicker/easier to fix the problem yourself.

I wanted to send a big THANK YOU out to all the dad's (or even the guys that are filling father roles) that take the time to teach their kids important day-to-day things, especially when it comes to cars. Today's cars are basically a computer running an engine, so even changing the oil can be a complicated task. (Don't even ask me about the Prius!)

I also want to personally thank my dad for teaching me "guy" things. I wasn't always grateful during these teaching sessions, but after "growing up" and having my own kids, I am extremely grateful now. I'm especially grateful for all the household repair/woodworking lessons.

I can paint whole rooms, wallpaper (I won't, but I can do it), fix electrical issues, install ceiling fans with no existing light fixtures, fix sprinklers and pipes, build my own garden beds, and the list goes on. For the last seven months, while my husband is in school in Rhode Island, I have been able to maintain and upgrade our house, due to the lessons I received from my dad.

Thank you dad! Happy Father's Day!