Do unto others…

Shortly after Thanksgiving I got a call from an old friend. She was in a bit of financial trouble and wasn't quite sure what she was going to do. She needed a place to stay but wasn't prepared to just abandon her current situation as she wants to finish school (technical, get a+, mcp, and a couple other certifications). It took her a couple of days, but she managed to find herself a place to stay.

Fast forward to last Friday.

She calls me again. This time, she needs some help with her youngest child. She can't find anyone that will watch her while she is in class and she is about to break. I already have 3 kids (2 girls, 1 boy) but I figure why not. I know she needs help, and we've already had this discussion before. It is only temporary. I told her I would see what I could do.

I get up on Saturday to find that a small amount of money has been deposited into the bank (expected, but not that soon). I run down to the ATM and make a quick withdrawal to cover the cost of getting there and back. It should only be about 10 hours there and back. I'm not expecting anything out of the ordinary and why should I? Nobody ever does.

2 hours into the trip, we make a pit-stop and notice a very strong coolant odor. Being as we are at a gas station, I don't think much of it but I do go ahead and check the engine. Turns out that we've sprung a leak but I can't see where. Radiator is fine, no hoses busted, nothing is obvious. I purchase some coolant and top off the engine.

3 miles later, we are sitting on the access road waiting for a tow-truck and trying to figure out we are gonna fix this one. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, we stayed in a hotel for 2 days, got the car fixed (intake manifold was cracked), and only paid for the part ($241).

My friend managed a ride to where we were and we returned home with a fourth child. Let the fun begin.