February 19, 2014

Englewood, FL

How much is that going to cost?

I went to the AAA site to find a repair service center.  The closest one was 10 miles away.

Before heading over to my brother’s house, where my car was parked in his driveway, I called AAA to request a tow.  (Sunday evening when we were ready to leave my brother’s house after a delicious dinner, my car died.  After unsuccessfully trying to boost the battery we decided to leave the car and got a ride home with my parents.)

 

When the AAA tow truck driver arrived, he put the car in neutral and backed it out of the driveway.  It took him less than 5 minutes to hitch up the car and take off.  We followed in our truck.

The tech at the repair service center told us he would call us when he determined what was wrong with the car.

We spent the next couple of hours running errands.   My worst fear about the car was realized when we received the call telling us that the problem was the timing belt.  It had caused damage to the engine and the estimate for repairs was around $3,000.  OUCH

My first reaction was not to fix the car.  When I told Henry at Flagship Automotive that we probably won’t fix the car, he gave the name and telephone number of someone who might want to buy the car.  When we called Mike he said he could offer us between $500 and $800. 

We told both Henry and Mike we wanted to think about it overnight.  I suggested to Monte that we check out a few car dealers to see what was available.

Our first stop at the Dodge Dealer was a waste of time—the salesman said he wouldn’t’ have anything under $10,000. 

The second stop was to the Nissan Dealership.  Our salesman Pete showed us a few cars.  Monte noticed a Jeep sitting off to the side.  When he inquired about it, Pete said he hadn’t showed us the Jeep because he thought we were interested in a car similar to what we had. 

We really liked the look of the Jeep but I wasn’t ready to make a decision so we told Pete we would call him the next day.  We also checked out Honda, Kia, Chevy and Toyota. 

In the evening we hashed and rehashed the pros and cons of spending the money to fix my car verses buying the Jeep.

While I was sitting outside I spotted a family of raccoons crossing the road.  By the time I grabbed my camera they had already climbed the tree next to our site.

 

 

 

34 years ago today I welcomed my baby boy into this world.  Ryan Edmund Fais was so anxious to enter the world that he came into it six weeks early.   His older sister, Renee, had also been born prematurely the previous year.  She had been transferred to a nearby hospital that had a neo-natal unit.  We had been told that we were lucky to have a girl because girls are fighters and have a better survival rate than boys.

So here I was a year later having my second baby transferred to another hospital but this time the baby is a boy.  I was terrified.  But just like his older sister, Ryan proved to be a fighter too.  He had some of the complications associated with being a preemie including premature lungs and jaundice.  But we were lucky because his condition could have been much worse.

As a consequence of his premature birth Ryan did have asthma.  But he never let the asthma stop him from participating in such sports as soccer, baseball, gymnastics and lacrosse.

 Ryan was the most adorable baby.  I was very busy with his older sister who was at a stage where she was into everything and needed constant attention.  Ryan was content to play in his playpen and was very easily amused.  He was a very kind and thoughtful young boy.   When he entered High School, where I was worked as a teaching assistant, he wasn’t embarrassed by my presence.  A typical teenage boy would shy away from showing affection to his mother but not Ryan who didn’t have a problem giving me a hug when our paths crossed in the hallway.

I have so many wonderful memories of Ryan’s childhood.  One such memory was of Valentine’s Day when Ryan was perhaps 13 years old.  He rode his bike into town and bought a girl he liked roses and then rode to her house to deliver them.   Another memory is of Ryan at the last moment taking a girl to her prom because she didn’t have a date. 

In addition to sports, Ryan was also active in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and ROTC in High School.  His involvement with ROTC did not come as a surprise to me because his interest in the military began when he was a small boy playing with GI Joe.  When it came to choosing a career, Ryan, in keeping with a long line of family members like his dad and great grandfather, chose to become a policeman.   He also answered a call to our country just prior to 9/11 by enlisting in the Army Reserves and has served two tours in Iraq and a tour in Afghanistan. 

I love you Ryan and am so very proud to be your mother.

 Happy Birthday