Driving 3000+ miles each month for work, the 5000-mile service visits for my vehicle roll around pretty quickly. I bought this RAV4 - the very first vehicle I have ever purchased, and I love it 😊 - just over 4 months ago. This week, Big Red and I logged over 16,000 miles.
Since I want this car to last as long as possible, I'm a stickler for having it serviced on time.
* * * * *
My sister and brother-in-law gifted me with a re-put-together Yaris ("Little Red") a couple of years ago, so that I would have a vehicle to drive back and forth to school. That janky-looking, patched-together Yaris has 300,000 miles on it now and it runs like a charm. All Little Red has ever needed from me is regular oil changes (shout out to the wonderful folks at Buddy's in Union City) and a new set of tires.
I'm expecting the same longevity from the RAV4.
Anywho, this is not a post about how much I appreciate faithful Toyotas. It's a post about a very special moment I experienced while I was sitting at the Toyota dealership this morning, waiting for Big Red to complete her spa visit...
"Mrs. Kendall, your cabin air filter needs to be changed. Is that something you would like for us to take care of today?"
One of the cool things about having the vehicle serviced at the dealership is that the technician videos everything he does, sends you the video in progress as he is working on your car, and makes comments, suggestions, etc. I'm sitting in the waiting area, and Mark, the service manager, comes through the door (I've just seen Barry-the-technician's video). Mark asks if I would like the cabin filter changed.
I live in an agricultural area. Drive many, many miles each day. Farmers are combining beans and corn in NW TN right now, and the air is, shall we say, "chunky"? The cabin air filter is supposed to be white. I could clearly see from Barry's video that the filter was anything BUT white. It was naaaaaasty.
"Yes, please change the filter today."
My wheels were also out of line. Rural West TN roads...gotta love 'em.
Mark: "Do you want us to go ahead and realign your wheels while you are here? The charge will be $---."
Me: "Yes, please. Thank you."
So, I'm sitting in the waiting area, working on notes for next week's team meeting at the office while I wait for Big Red to get everything properly aligned, and something absolutely magical happens...
I. AM. OKAY.
No increase in heart rate. No cold sweat. No sick feeling in my stomach. No tension in my jaws. No silent tears. No mental gymnastics to figure out how the heck I'm going to swap groceries for car maintenance.
NONE of that.
I just go calmly back to working on my meeting notes.
* * * * *
I have lived the past several decades under a dark cloud of never-enough.
Having to choose between buying shoes for my children - OR - groceries to feed them.
Having to sit in the ER parking lot praying desperately that 4 Benadryl tablets would counter an anaphylactic reaction because there was no healthcare to cover medical expenses.
The fuel gauge on empty, but passing the gas station anyway because the bank account had only $2.44 in it...or worse, was overdrawn...hoping against hope that we'd make it back home.
I remember one time when an older lady in my church excitedly told me that all the clothing at Goodwill was on sale for 50 cents an item, so I could buy clothes for my kids really cheap! I cried, because I didn't have even 50 freakin' cents.
Some of y'all know exactly what I'm talking about.
That kind of desperation is exhausting.
(There's a reason why if anyone asks me how I'm doing, my answer is usually, "I'm tired." I have so many years of "tired" built up that it will probably be a long, long time before I feel anything different.)
But this morning at the Toyota dealership...
"Yes, please, change the filter..."
"Yes, please, realign the tires..."
And I was okay.
I WAS OKAY.
No anxiety, no panic, no stress, no cold sweats...
So...
In conclusion:
Thank you, Suzanne and Leonard, for the little Yaris, so I could drive back and forth to school.
Thank you, Nate and Abby, for underwriting my education financially.
Thank you, Helen and Emily and Martha, for being my biggest cheerleaders and for giving me courage to hope.
Thank you, Tom and Carly, for pizza on the porch and for mental breaks from school in the kayaks on the lake.
Thank you, Ben, for allllll the prayers.
Thank you, Reuben, for poems that gave me light in the darkness...and for being a soul that made me feel so much less alone in some very desperate places. Thank you.
Thank you, BMH-UC, for my first real job, for your incredible teamwork ethic, and for supporting and encouraging me every single step of the way on this new journey.
Thank you, Gentiva, for work that aligns with my heart, for fantastic team support, for respectable pay, for healthcare benefits, for PTO (what the heck is that, even?!)...
...and thank you for the company vehicle that is coming next week. Big Red will be happy to cool her wheels.
(You may be a home health nurse if your commute looks like.... 😜)
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