When It Rains it Pours

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “when it rains, it pours.” Well, this week I got soaked to the bone.
It started when I logged onto my business bank account and discovered that there were several charges from a site I didn’t recognize. When I checked Google, I found it was some kind of online dating service. There were three charges which totaled almost a hundred dollars.
I immediately called my bank and canceled the card. I also filed a report so that I could get the money back into my account. It was kind of a pain, but I’m glad I caught it quickly.
Later that day Jilda called me at work to say that the dishwasher stopped draining. Dollar signs flashed in my eyes.
Dang, I thought to myself, I could use that hundred dollars the dating service ripped off to buy a new pump for the dishwasher.
A guy at work joked that I could repair my dishwasher by buying her a new pair of latex gloves.
I knew Jilda would fail to see the humor in this so, I conveniently forgot to mention his mirthful suggestion.
Jilda drives an older Volvo that has been paid off for many years. We both love Ingrid (that’s what Jilda named the car) and normally when we travel, we take the Swiss beauty.
A while back we started having to add coolant on occasion. The air conditioner also acted up time and again, so we decided to take her in for servicing.
The repair shop called that evening with the estimate and I gasped so hard that I almost sucked a pencil down my windpipe.
“WHAT IS THE DEAL HERE?” I thought to myself, I’ll have to knock off a bingo hall to pay this repair bill!
One of the guys at work suggested that we take advantage of the government’s deal where they give several thousand dollars for your old gas guzzler.
The money would go toward a new American-made vehicle that is more fuel efficient.
When I read the plan, it said the government would have the older car crushed and sold for scrap.
Though we bought her car several years ago, Ingrid actually looks almost new. The leather seats are showing a little wear, she could stand a little wax, and steam cleaning the engine would probably be a good idea, but she’s by far the nicest car either of us have ever owned and we can’t bare to let her go.
So I dipped into our emergency fund for enough cash to cover all the unexpected expenses.
I could get upset and focus on this run of bad luck, but the truth is, I feel blessed. Not because I’m having to dig deeply into my pocket to fix all the stuff that’s broken, but blessed that I have a decent job and I’ve had the good fortune to be in a position to stick a little money back to cover these things.
When I look around, I realize that there are so many who don’t have the luxury of paying for emergencies. A lot of people would either have to drive the car until it died, or put the repairs on a credit card and pay astronomical interest rates.
I believe the old saying that says the Good Lord doesn’t give you burdens that you can’t bear, but I do wish the rain would go away and NOT come again another day.