Click, Clack, and Dad

I once poked fun at my sister when her car broke down in the middle of the road, and she called our dad, who was many miles away, to help her out. Until recently I thought she called him because she expected him to run down the street, take a look under her hood, and make everything right. I thought, call AAA, duh!

This week I had a similar, though way less immediate, car concern. I went from getting a simple oil change to possibly paying hundreds in repairs for things I hadn’t seen coming. When I felt helpless, confused, and just plain pissed off about spending my well-earned day off trying to deal with adult issues like car troubles, I called my dad. See my sister knew years ago what I rediscovered that morning with my car in jeopardy: Husbands have no clue (especially when they always lease their cars) and dads have the patience and the wisdom to deal with their crying daughters.

No matter what distance he was from our ailments, he dropped everything to listen, instruct, and do whatever he could. I knew my dad couldn’t see my balding tires, and he couldn’t talk to the mechanic about my check engine light, but calling him was the first thing I did when I had no idea what to do. He listened to my immature tears and woes, he gave the best advice he could, and he reminded me that it was just a car.

Even though my eyes had dried while my wheels were replaced and my engine was inspected, I kept my dad updated on my progress. Like my sister, I didn’t expect him to physically come fix all my car woes, but by being my contact, my support while I made grown-up decisions, he did make everything a bit better.

And that is what dads are for. Thanks Dad!

Now if only I wasn’t off the books....

Hello Again

It’s been awhile, so I have decided to reintroduce myself. In my first post I was in search of a definition, but here I just want to share some defining moments of 2007 that sum up who I am at the start 2008.

The things that stick out the most are:

1. I got married. What a high; the day, today, and the rest of my life.

2. We bought our first house.  A lot of money and a lot of work, but its worth it.  To make it feel like our own, we ripped out floors, knocked down walls, and expanded the bathroom.  Slowly we are hanging pictures and buying furniture to really make it feel like home.

3. My first earthquake. It was just a small one, but it made me feel just a bit more Californian.

4. A netty pot. After dealing with sinus migraines and watery ears, I ventured into a natural way of dealing with my California allergies. Now I drain the mucus from my nostrils with a little salt water almost everyday!

As 2008 has begun, I have decided to make some conscience changes: more consistent blog entries and more yoga. So far I have been pretty good about the yoga, but here it is mid-February and I just now got this post up. I am working on it.