The Silver Lining is Wider Than the Cloud

I'm keeping my Lenten gratitude journal, which is far more of a gift than a discipline. In it, I try to articulate some of the gifts of the season, day by day. This past week, the gifts have been hard-fought, but precious!

On Wednesday, Jon turned in his preliminary exams. All praises!! But hardly did he have time to turn them in before we were hit with another challenge: the struts and shocks in the car gave out. The Nissan hobbled in with what we thought was a minor problem, and it was revealed to us that, on the one hand, it was extremely broken. But on the other hand, had we hit one more bump, the front of the car might have collapsed entirely, totaling the car and possibly putting us in danger in the road. Thank God that Blacksburg is so small and we were able to get to the repair shop in time!

The first combined challenge/blessing of this event, of course, was alternate transportation. We don't drive the car far, but I do drive it every day to get Adele to daycare. I have known, of course, that there was a bus that could take me to her daycare should we need it, and that knowledge has always given me great peace of mind: if the car should break, life could go on. Well, I got to put that to the test this week. Since Wednesday afternoon, morning and evening, BT has been our transport:

And Adele LOVES it. Neither of us loves the journey to the Hethwood bus stop, about half a mile away. Only today, with all the ice and snow on the road, did I feel like the stroller was a viable option to get there. I've just been lugging her. But once ON the bus? She's in heaven. 

And you know what? It's been hard, and I've been using a bit of leave to come to work a bit late. But I feel great. I get exercise, and outdoor time, and I feel connected to my community in a way I don't feel when I'm just a human automobile amongst others of the kind. Multiple entries in my gratitude journals include the phrase, "attitude shift." Because I'm grateful for this reality, described by G. K. Chesterton: 

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered." 

So it is.

Just ask her!

Saturday, now that was a trial. I couldn't bear the kids missing out on anything just because we are car-less. But getting them out the door on time to walk 1.5 miles in the snow with two kids, to arrive on time to a 9:30 dance class? Bless my own heart. It didn't happen.

Fortunately, I realized that in time to change my attitude. When it was 9:30 and I wasn't yet halfway there, and I had one single stroller and two kids refusing to walk and an impassable sidewalk, I released the 9:30 class. I gave them a call, got permission for Adele to join Miles' older-kid class, and then basically told the kids all motion was acceptable as long as it was forward.

I didn't become beatific; I totally lost my temper with them later on, in another snowbank. But because we didn't give up, these moments got to happen (it was parent weekend! of course):

They had a blast! As always. 

Now, you know one adventure isn't enough for me. Not on a Saturday. I have a horror of being stuck at home; someday I may have to address that. But this wasn't that day. Onward! There was a Winterfest party at Virginia Tech!

There was a Wendy's on the way, thank God, because all I'm going to say about the North Main Street portion of the journey is, I'm glad there's grace, and that spring is coming.

The kids got plastic grills (I'm not kidding; the package said it was a grill) which they got to decorate with rhinestone stickers. It was killer.

There was a bus to Squires and it was Winterfest 2015!


Free kid party? Are you kidding me? I'm there, car or no car.

There was LOUD party music and a carnival atmosphere and we all grinned our way through the afternoon.

We got free photo dog tags, you guys. All our grinning faces on this tiny dog tag. What a hoot.

These guys, man. The dj was playing all their favorites and you would've thought Squires was their personal disco.

Finally, teary from their tired tantrums, I got them on a bus.

It was all worth it. 

Sunday, well, we weren't about to skip church. Miles saddled up his hobby horse ("It's ok the car is broken; I have a horse!") and we just left really early! This time, we had Papa power with us. 

We're calling Lent 2015 "Abundant Lent" at church. That's the focus: abundance in a time of scarcity. I'm feeling it! Many are the gifts.

So, the second burden of the broken car, of course, was financial. This was the second major break in the few months it's been out of warrantee. It was a blow! But we've had help, and the gift we're receiving now is a renewed awareness and attention to our budget. We've long felt like we needed to be more careful with all those little purchases we make, often without thinking, and now we have an impetus. We have a goal. And somehow, in this time when we don't know where we're going or what we're going to be doing next year, in this time when the future we imagine seems farther away than ever, this awareness has made us feel less powerless. We will try to be faithful with the small things, because that is our business, right now. 

Monday morning, I was so done with the bus! We were doing well, Adele and me. I was sweating; it's thawing this time, as I'm carrying all the things to the daycare. But when I left the daycare and realized I'd left me keys on that last bus, my keys that have my passport which allow me to take the bus, it was a low point.

While waiting longer for that same bus to come back, so I could find out if she had my keys and would let me on (she had, and she did!!), I snapped this shot of my view.

Right in front of me. It was like a spoken invitation to rest, and be quiet, while it was the only thing I could do. 

We got the car back today, after we did our final bus to day-care. But you know? When the weather gets to be spring-like and the snowbanks are off the sidewalk, the Hethwood bus might see more of us. I got that attached to the walking.