LUCK OF A WHIRLWIND DAY

The last day of June brought with it many obstacles to overcome. It started with getting the children ready for their second day of summer camp to which we arrived half an hour late and ended with my being late to pick up the children in the afternoon due to an oil leak whilst driving on the freeway which could have ended up with a totaled car.

Being late was not much of an issue since the first half hour at day camp is set aside for play whilst everyone else arrives. After dropping off the children downstairs for their day of fun, I went upstairs to workout. Though sleep escaped me yet again last night, I made it through almost an hour before going home.

As I left the gym, I checked my email on the way out. What awaited me was an answer from a large financial firm letting me know 'we have decided not to further consider you at this time' followed by 'our policy is not to discuss these decisions'. I beg to differ and I let the woman know my thoughts in a lengthy email explaining the myriad of reasons I thought perhaps she did not consider me, starting with my having young children who need my attention.

At this rate, I have a better chance at winning the lottery than I do at gaining meaningful employment. Having searched for close to a year, I am running out of options at this point. I would gladly move abroad with my children to live in Ireland with my boyfriend where my money would last much longer but the children's father prohibits me from such a move.

The day got even better when I was driving back on the MoPac freeway from Central Market and noticed smoke in my rearview mirror. It wasn't until the car behind me moved over to the next lane that I realised it was my car which was smoking. Seeing how there was nowhere to exit at the moment, and not wanting to simply pull over to the side, I kept driving until the next exit though someone next to me honked their horn to let me know something was wrong.

I made it to the closest office complex and parked there whilst dialing the number of my insurance. They routed me to roadside assistance who then contacted a towing company. When the call from the towing company came, they let me know the soonest they would have someone out to help me was an hour and a half.

In the sweltering heat of 32 degrees Celsius I simply could not wait an hour and a half. Added to this complexity was my need to pick up the children in less than three hours' time. I called the towing company and asked if they could come sooner. 'No', came the reply.

A few minutes later, the towing company called me and let me know I was 'in luck' and that there was a driver close by who would arrive in 25 minutes. I waited and ate some of the baguette and cheddar cheese I had just purchased knowing the sun would not be too kind to it for much longer.

The guy arrived in 20 minutes, loaded the minivan onto the tow truck, and we were on our way to the dealership about 14 miles away in Round Rock. The drive was long due to afternoon traffic having already started but the guy was nice and we exchange our views on the difficulties of co-parenting and having to deal with the other parent.

We arrived at the dealership ten minutes before most of the service people were leaving for the day. I explained my dilemma and the fact I just had the car serviced two months ago. The guy at the dealership informed me of closing time but would see if there was a quick solution.

The issue with the oil leak was a punctured cooler line which ended up being under an extended warranty due to a recall. Dealership guy then told me he might have to order the part which would not arrive until Thursday and I would have to rent a car for at least two days. I sat in the waiting room and waited.

'Good news' he exclaimed as he approached me. 'You're in luck', he continued. The part happened to be in stock, someone would install it right away, and I did not have to spend a penny for any of it.

Soon after the sky got dark, the wind howled, and rain poured down. To me it made no difference as my luck took a turn on this whirlwind last day of June.