I was SO giddy this morning-tons of fun plans, today we went to the lake with friends and hung out, the girls are having a blast at day camp, laid-back weekend ahead with even more fun running around and as I was leaving the grocery store with snacks, I was feeling so relaxed and happy. I even thought, "The van just hit 160k miles and has been FINE, I am going to quit worrying about it until something major actually happens."
Well, I cranked it and BAM. The check engine light is not just on; it's flashing. That indicates a major engine misfire and is BAD. I called Matt, who said, "Oh, it did that on the way home from Clear Creek." Oh. It's already indicated an issue 2 months ago. GREAT. He said it went away after he filled up the tank. It stopped flashing almost immediately, maybe 4-5 minutes. But it STAYED on, even while I was cranking the engine, it was like the light itself was broken. I checked the gas cap and it was loose, so I went ahead and topped it off and cranked down the cap but the light never went off. We finished out our day, played and I got the kids fed and the girls dropped off and picked up Austin and came on home.
Got home and shut it off and left it off a while and restarted and no light. I don't know if it will come back on once it's been running more than a few minutes, I swear, I feel like there's a rock in my gut. I am SO bummed. It's not like I can zip over to the drive-in movie or run off to go hike in Tennessee with the engine misfiring, so I am taking in tomorrow morning to have a diagnostic run and see what needs to be done and how much THAT'S going to cost. Likely more than I have in the bank. So, back to credit cards and I guess I can be happy we were out of debt for 2 whole months. I am so sad for me :(
I know in the grand scheme of things, even a $1000 repair is better than having to get a whole new car and it's not the end of the world, but I spent the last several years planning to get us out of debt and imagining the fun we could have with 'all that extra money' which so far has gone to a new fridge, the AC repair, a lawn mower, a ukulale and all the stuff that goes with that, Ben's braces, new tires, dog fencing and so on. No 'fun' at all. Just bills and life and crappy timing. Waaaa
Okay, well I guess I have whined enough, I got it all out anyway. I just don't like how it feels (at the moment because it's still full-impact recent dramatics) that I am being punished for FINALLY letting down my guard and just looking forward to goofing off a while. I know, I HOPE anyway, that in a few weeks I will re-read this and be amazed at my histrionics. Fingers crossed for future introspective eye-roll!
