Life Maintenance 101

I seem to be going through an annoying phase of paying someone to fix things. Then the fix doesn't work. Time and time again. I started to wonder when this cycle began ...

• The car. I took it in and got the transmission flushed. Then it leaked transmission fluid afterwards. I took it back and they fixed it. But I had to take it back to do the job that should have been done the first time.
• Our cat with chronic diarrhea - we may be onto something. Six months later. After many phone calls, a vet appointment, antibiotics, deworming, consulting Dr. Google and then a Pet Store Expert ... I finally talked to the dietician at our vet's office and after almost a month and $70.00 worth of gold nuggets which they call cat food ... things are looking better. But are they fixed? Really fixed? 
• My hair. Oh ... my, hair! I cheaped out and got it cut at a hair school. I thought 'What do I have to lose??' It turns out that I had my hair to lose. The cheap haircut cost me $79 to fix ... and the fix was another bad haircut that has taken three months to grow out to the point where I had my first bad haircut. I am now slightly paranoid about taking my overgrown locks anywhere at all.
• The car again.I got the oil changed. Then it leaked engine oil afterwards. I took it back and they told me that I need a new oil pressure sensor. 
• The fence. Two words that make me shudder to this day. We paid professionals to do the job and it didn't happen. It was simply a bad situation. The fence is up. The fence is beautiful. But the job is not yet complete. It continues to haunt me. But the worst part of all, is that I fear that my relationship with my Middle Son will be forever haunted by this as well.
• The car one more time. I got the radiator flushed. Now the car does not blow heat. "It's just an air bubble - bring it right back and we can fix it". I did. They didn't. Now the car needs a new oil pressure sensor and the heat fixed. This is starting to sound like my hair!
• The furnace and air exchanger. The furnace was making a strange sound. The moisture on the windows was ridiculous and it wasn't even -20. I hired someone to come and look at these two things. It cost $75 (plus tax). And neither are fixed. So I have placed another service call to remedy these problems. Hopefully my $75 'deposit' will go towards the eventual repair.
• Senior Cat ... oh, my senior kitty. We have invested $630 in his health and I think that he is as good as he is going to get. I gazed into his eyes yesterday and thought 'If you can stay as good as you are and not get any worse ... this is enough'. Health is such a precarious thing and there are no guarantees. Sometimes we have to get used to a new normal but as long as it doesn't continue to deteriorate this is okay.

It is frustrating. It seems that I am running into little speed bumps at every turn. But I am not. Not really. I simply want things to run the way they have always run. I don't care about age, technical difficulties or how hard it is to diagnose the problems. I simply want things to ... stay the same.

Well, girl ... I have news for you. Nothing in life stays the same. When we can hold onto a car, a fence, a furnace, a pet and our hair as long as we can ... but things are bound to change in time.

The lesson here is that it is 'just' all of the above. It could be my health or the health of a loved one that is in jeopardy. The difficulty to diagnose a problem with a car is pretty minor in the whole scheme of things. Worst case scenario? Buy a new car. It is a tangible item with a tangible solution.

Strong, healthy relationships and a strong healthy body are two of life's greatest gifts. There is no price that can be paid to fix things once they are broken beyond repair.

As frustrating, expensive and time consuming as these petty little annoyances are ... that is all that they are. Petty. As I have said on many, many occasions, "If money can fix our problems, we are very lucky indeed."

I am one of the lucky ones. I am grateful.