Motivating, no?

Exactly what it might motivate one to do is up for debate.

The Joy Comes in Moments

A conversation with Scud last night as he was settling down for sleep:

Scud: Mom, I realize you and Dad do so much stuff for us. I want to thank you for that.
Me: You're welcome. I'm grateful to be your mom.
Scud: I'm grateful to be your son.

Crunch!

Hi everyone! How are you all? It seems like forever since I've written anything here. Life has just been busy and full and rewarding and my little blog here has not had the draw it sometimes has. Too busy living and learning.

But, I had to come tell you the latest. I rear-ended a tank yesterday. Okay, not exactly a real-live tank. It was just a big, old, heavy, metal car. I looked down for a moment and then when I looked back up it was right there. If it had been dry, regular weather I would have had enough time to stop. But, (and I must interject here, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE WEATHER HERE IN UTAH??????) since it was snowing and the roads were wet and slick, I slid right into the back of his car.

Thankfully there were no injuries, though my neck is a bit sore today. His car didn't even have a scratch. Man, I wish I would have looked at the make and model of his car so I could get a picture and show you all just how SOLID it is. But... I was a bit distracted.

Our lovely Toyota Previa, Bertha, did not fare nearly as well. Her front end is all bent in; we can't open the hood. Lights are falling out. The fan belt squeaks. She died on me while I was taking kids to school this morning and wouldn't start again until she magically came to life when JDub came to rescue us and turned the key. (Isn't that always the way?)

The insurance adjuster is supposed to look at it today and give us the damage report. We have a $500 deductible and, gratefully, have that saved up. We may even need to find a new car if the damage is too great. We shall see what our best options are.

So...

Everything is well. We're all well. The guy I ran in to was exceedingly kind and easy-going about it.

It would be easy to complain that, as soon as we are out of debt and about to begin building a full emergency account we will be shelling out at least $500 and possibly be looking at the necessity of buying a new car (hopefully without any debt).

My sister texted me a quote a while ago that has really carried me through some of the difficulties of the last little while.

"If you can't see the bright side, polish the dull side."

So that's what I'm doing:

• I got in an accident yesterday and nobody was hurt!
  
• My kidlets are just fine!
  
• We chose not to involve police in the accident, so I didn't get any kind of citation!
  
• We will have to pay a $500 deductible to cover the expense of this accident, but we already have it in the bank. Hooray and hallelujah for emergency savings! Dave Ramsey, my friend, this is only one of many times over the last few years that I have wished I could kiss you on both cheeks like an old Italian grandmother.
• Bertha the gold van has taken us through over 150,000 miles since we bought her in 2002. This is the very first time we have had to do anything major to fix her. We have replaced tires and brakes and the muffler, done basic maintenance, but when all is said and done this has been an exceedingly reliable car.
  
• When she died this morning on the way to take kids to school, we were on a residential road just a block from our home. I drove up and down State (a very busy street) yesterday and even on the freeway and didn't have a bit of trouble. I am so, so grateful for the timing of it all.
• Even though we have been talking about lowering our coverage since we own our van outright, we have not done that yet. Thank goodness we still have comprehensive!
• And hey, I may even get a new vehicle out of this ordeal!

Isn't life crazy and funny and just interesting? I live a blessed life and I know it. No complaints here.

PS I'll try to get a picture up for you soon.

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

For those of you following along, it is now official. We are now debt free except for our house. And it feels WONDERFUL.

We made our last payment just in time for a significant pay decrease for JDub. Yesterday I worked up budgets for the next two pay periods and, since we have no debt payments, we will be just fine.

Can you hear my enormous sigh of relief?

25 Ways to Simplify Your Life with Kids

"You won't get to ultra-simple if your life includes children ... but you can find ways to simplify, no matter how many kids you have."

Another fabulous post from one of my favorite blogs: zenhabits.net.

I was surprised by how many of these we actually do, and how many I've never even thought to do.

I'll be working over the next little while on:
4.Regular Cleanups
6. Prep the Night Before
10. Always Prep Early
and
25. Focus on Doing, Not on Spending

The last one especially spoke to me. I want to DO the simple things with our family more.

What about you? After you read it, come back here and tell me which of Leo's tips were most helpful for you, will you please?

read more | digg story