Whatever!

What an interesting week this has been! I was tempted to see if mercury was in retrograde again.

Even though it has been expensive it has not been bad. In fact it brought back an interesting memory of an experience when I was a teenager, visiting my grandparents. Without warning their water heater stopped working. They didn't blink an eye, ordered a new one and had it installed. I was impressed! I think at that time I made a silent vow to myself that I would aim for that life.

That was not the kind of life I had experienced growing up in my parent's home. It seemed we were always in debt, even though I don't recall ever going hungry. During my two marriages I pretty much experienced a similar trend. Today I am thinking that was probably a good thing because I learned to not spend more than I could afford. I'm sure it caused a lot of fights with my two now deceased spouses. I hated being in debt and still do.

Knowing that I am now in a position to take care of any reasonable expense that may come up and that I have excellent credit that enables me to charge if I choose to is a giant relief! When unexpected bills come up I pay them and am grateful that I can. I have been on my own since 1999 and have depended on nobody else. What a great feeling that is!

This week started out with the check engine light on my car glaring at me. Of course, my first thought was, "I hope this is going to be cheap". It turned out not to be too bad. I just needed new spark plugs, which my son was able to install for me.

Next, as I was about to put dinner in my oven, I realized the gas hadn't gone on. After turning the oven off and trying again it did light, but I began to worry that something was seriously wrong. Growing up with electricity I do not like gas. You might even say I am slightly afraid of it. With that in mind I decided to call a repairman to check it out. The problem was that the oven needed a new thermostat. The additional problem was that the oven is 40 years old and they don't make them anymore.

We will be picking up a new oven in the morning. My son pointed out that the stove top was the same vintage and it would be smart to replace that too. After giving it some thought I agreed with him. The installation probably wouldn't be much more for the second item installed at the same time.

This morning I thought back to the experience at my grandparent's home so many years ago and to the silent vow I made to myself. Not only will I be able to begin cooking again with brand new equipment, but I will not go into debt paying for it.



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