When it rains, it pours.

This is the week of Outdoor Retailer and any of you who talk to me this week know that it is when I am at my worst. Bad words, less patience than usual and tears, it often causes tears. But its ok, this is the price we pay to have a nice house, 3 nice cars (anyone need a Lexus, Tacoma or Mini Cooper? I have 2 extra cars I will trade for food) and a job that allows me freedom enough to work remotely, go to school and have my boys with me everyday.
It is hard to keep this in perspective after working 12 hour days on concrete floors, open freight doors, no heat and clients who complain about the kind of garbage cans they get. This is not the galmerous part of what we do. There is a bright side to that though, a lot of the people we work with are wonderfully creative and good at their jobs and often it is rewarding to participate in the creative cycle. Not so much this week.
Needless to say, I am really tired today. I know there are people who work a lot harder than I do and for that I also feel fortunate. What I don't feel fortunate for is the other crap that piles up while I am busy pounding the cold concrete of the Salt Palace.
About a week ago I took off from a stop light and found that the power steering in the Mini had gone out. When is the last time you drove a car without power steering? It's hard, especially when you aren't expecting it. I had Josh Smario (one of my favorite people, but don't tell him cause he might think I am going to start being nice to him) look at it to see if he could see anything out of the ordinary. No luck but restarting the car seemed to fix the problem and I haven't had issue with it since UNTIL today. Today, the day OR opens, and 30 phone calls in 2 hours is not unexpected. Today when I so tired I don't dare sit down for more than 10 minutes because I know I will not be able to rouse myself.
When "the incident" happened I just drove straight to the dealership where they cheerfully informed me that the repair is a minimum $800. Just for the record,"Are you kidding?" is not received well on the BMW premises.
With absolutely no problem solving skills in tact and exhaustion weighing heavily on me I did the only thing I could, I cried. Not big tears like I wanted to, just little ones that sneak out of your eyes and roll sadly down your warm cheeks. I want so much to go to battle for this car. To fight to keep it looking and driving like it should but after the major investment in tires (FYI, do not buy a "sports" car) we just made, the two headlights that went out and four chips in the windshield (all of this in 4 months) I think it is time to accept my fate, cars are my nemesis.
I have decided to park the car in front of our cute house and use it as a curb ornament for a while until I win the lottery. This also makes me cry a little bit. Why would I cry over a car? I wouldn't, I just don't have any other emotion left today. My anger, frustration and compassion are maxed out, sadness is what is left in my emotional arsenal.
As of today, the Hansen's officially have 3 cars for sale. All of them a little bruised from life's battles but you now have my full disclosure so if you are in the market, step up.