Birthday Weekend

Well, when I said it rains, it pours about issues with our cars, I was joking, but our apartment flooded a few days before I came up for Amanda’s birthday weekend. Amanda had been gone for a while, and when she returned, she noticed water all over the floor! It was pretty much raining out of the water heater. It sprang a leak, flooding the laundry room, the guest bedroom, and part of the master bedroom. Thankfully, it wasn’t the entire apartment. Good thing the floors weren’t perfectly level, I guess! The water stayed away from the living room and any rugs we had down, but soaked a good many of the dialysis boxes tucked away under the guest bed. 

It was an ordeal with the leak. It was after hours, and it took the emergency maintenance guy a good bit to get there. Thankfully, the regular maintenance guy was around, saw the call, and came by to shut the valve off. I wasn’t sure what they would bring for cleanup, and Amanda seemed overwhelmed, so I got in touch with a couple of Nashville friends to lend assistance. We didn’t even have a regular mop, only a Swiffer-type mop, which would be useless in a flood! Amanda didn’t think any help was needed with the mess, just then, but Bev was ready with her mop to help the following day. Between the two maintenance guys, they got everything vacuumed up and big fans going to dry things out. They also had a contractor scheduled for the next morning to put in a new water heater. All of their gear was cleared out by the following evening, but the floors were left pretty tracked through with dirty footprints. 

The following day, Bev came over to help get things cleaned up. Our church friend ended up not being able to put the parts on the Yukon I’d ordered. I had a temporary fix Amanda could do, but she’s not much on anything that involves popping a hood! All she needed to do was disconnect the battery cable. I sent her a video on how to do it and told her where all my tools were and what she’d need to do. She actually couldn’t even get the hood open! So, Bev threw in an assist, and between the two of them, they got things reset, which was good since the AC had gone to a default setting and wasn’t working. It was an adventure for them both, I think! That gave me a little more time before I had to take care of things. Amanda was a little perturbed that I would have to work on it at all while I was there, let alone the minute I arrived. The reset gave us a little buffer.

I extended our lease by three months, so we’ll have it through October now. It was a bit of back-and-forth to decide on it. I finally called someone in the renewal office and explained our situation. It was over $400 more a month for a 3-month extension. The year lease was even $55 more a month, with varying rates for other months, none lower than a $200 increase. If the flood had happened before I spoke with them, I’d have used that for a bargaining chip! I asked for the same rate for a 3-month extension. The renewal guy wasn’t sure but would run things by the back office and get back to me in a few days. I prayed and asked a few others to pray as well. Not long after getting the word out to pray, I got a response. They couldn’t match the same rate, but would only do an $180 increase, not bad, considering even the 10-month extension was more than that.

The vehicle saga continued on my drive to the airport. I was flying out around 9 am, but out of Austin, a three-hour drive. On the way, I thought I felt the AC get warmer. It was an unusually cool May morning, so it was a little hard to tell, but I was pretty sure it was toast. Driving a vehicle with a lot of miles, I take great care of our stuff. With nearly 300k miles on the ole Burb, the AC compressor is the only thing on a drive belt that hasn’t been replaced, either preemptively or replaced when it came off for another repair. I was thinking that the worst and most expensive item was the issue. I left a little after 5, but with a shuttle ride, I was cutting it close and didn’t have time to stop and diagnose the issue, and left it for my return.

My flight was one of the worst I’ve had. It was a full flight. They kept nagging, telling us about it, and to save room for larger bags in the overhead bins, and the last couple of boarding groups would have to check bags. I only have a small backpack to tote my MacBook, iPad, and Bible, mostly, so I never worry about bin space. When I got to my seat, it had a grocery bag and a blanket in it. I told the lady in the middle seat that it was my seat, pointing to her bag. When she removed her stuff, I saw her thigh was halfway in my seat! Great start to the trip, I thought. A full flight, might I remind you, so I knew there was no swapping anywhere else. She scooched a bit, but it didn’t make much of a difference. I thought, well, here we go, and slid in with my right cheek first, and wedging myself in, and pushing her over. Then she was like maybe I should move over! To boot, she smelled like an ashtray. We sat, thighs smashed together, the entire flight, me periodically throwing her blanket off my leg! I’m sorry, but if you take up more than your seat, you should be required to buy a second seat!

Amanda picked me up from the airport, and we headed to Franklin. She wanted to do a little shopping with some birthday money she’d gotten. She picked out some hippe britches that are very much her style and looked great. We milled around a bit, then went to the apartment to get ready. I had tickets at the Ryman and rooftop dinner reservations next door. Bev and Sam were meeting us for dinner, but not the show. We ended up seeing some friends from church. A young couple who lead the young adults class. She had just played at a spot on Broadway, and they were celebrating. I felt like a local seeing someone we knew! Dinner was good, and it was nice to just chill with friends.

The restaurant was atop a parking garage and food hall. I’d been there once when my friend Larry had come down. Amanda hadn’t been to the Broadway scene at all, and I hadn’t been at night yet either. We saw plenty of what the locals call “Woo Girls,” from all the bachelorette party girls in matching outfits, white cowboy boots, and signature WOOO cheers! They remind me of drunkin college girls! My flight attendant said, “Welcome to NashVegas,” when we landed, and boy, was she right! The Ryman was literally right across the street, so we made our way over just in time for the show. 

The show was the last of a tour with Ellie and Drew Holcomb and the band that travels with Drew, the Neighbors. Drew and Ellie opened for themselves in a typical Nashville singer-songwriter round of swapping back and forth in an acoustic-only set. They sang some of their own songs and some of each other’s. It was good, and I would have been happy with that for the rest of the show. They later came out with the full band, and Franni Cash also sang as a guest with Ellie for one song. The husband-and-wife duo hopped back and forth between some Jesus music and Americana, of the like, too. I didn’t know Drew too well, but I knew most of his music, whether the songs he’d written that were covered by others or the ones he recorded with his band. Of course, we knew almost all of Ellie’s set list. It was a really good show. Not a Christian show per se, but all clean music, as Amanda commented on.

We were out later than normal for you, for sure, not leaving the concert till around 11 in the evening. It took us about 30-45 minutes to get out of the garage! When I mentioned that, some friends all commented that that was normal there. I made sure not to turn towards Broadway, so we missed the scantily clad woo girl crowds. I’m sure they had even less attire on by the nearing midnight hour! 

It was hard getting up for church on Sunday morning, and we didn’t go to sleep till close to 2 am. Amanda was worn out. I guess I’m used to the crazy late nights with the railroad. I was still dragging and in need of coffee the next morning, though! We did still make it to Sunday school. Though they now have the young adults class, we are partial to our class. It’s the class I started with from the first day I visited. Last time I was there, a very quiet guy from class came up to me after service. He went on about how he knew he didn’t talk much, but wanted us to know how we’ve become like family, commenting that we should just move to Nashville! That is a comment we get pretty frequently. I feel there may be a fight on their hands if our Brackett church family hears that! 

They have two Sunday school class leaders: an older lady and a middle-aged Laotian man who grew up in the church and now comes from Murfreesboro, about a 40-minute drive away, to attend. He came up to me and told me how glad he was I was there, giving me a handshake-hug combo. It was a first from him, and he seemed sincere. We really have grown fond of this church, establishing a Nashville faith family. This Sunday was Tim, the interim pastor’s, second-to-last Sunday. They unanimously voted in a Nashville local as their new pastor, and he takes over at the end of the month. 

We made a Costco run after church, followed by a Cheesecake Factory late lunch. We’d planned to eat late since we’d be back at church that night. There is a couple that co-leads worship; they are the band Love and the Outcome. They were releasing a hymns album, most of which were birthed at church and were retakes of old classics, along with some of their own hymns. The album release party was at the church, so we weren’t going to miss that. 

One thing I noticed when we walked in that was new was the kids’ chatter. There is a big group of kids on Sunday mornings, but all the leaders are in their seventies, and they keep a tight rein on them! No chatter allowed, I guess. I’m of the let them talk and fool around crowd. To Amandas dismay, I am usually the instigator! I remember once when the kids were all lined up, ready to go in for a Christmas play, I walked by, telling them to make the sound of their animal! If looks could kill, I’d have been a dead man on the floor of that church! I think there needs to be order, but let’s kids be kids to a point. They only stay through worship anyway, then go to the kids’ church.

Though I feel the kids need to be kids, they need to learn when and where things are appropriate. These kids had no regard and were everywhere during this service. Obviously, of gentle parenting, none seem worried about the consequences of acting a fool. This wasn’t a church service, but it was a worship setting, I mean, Amanda and I were getting our worship on for sure. Aside from some kids literally running up and down the aisles, I saw one kid full-on barrel roll all the way to the altar! I joked with Tim, the pastor, that I would have never taken this old Baptist church to have had a holy roller, literally! If it hadn’t been a full-on worship song when I noticed the roller out of the corner of my eye, I would have fully lost it, but I was able to keep it together and not burst out laughing mid-song! The concert was great, they mixed their work with some favorite and current worship songs, so it was nice.

With the flood, Amanda had lost a couple of days for dialysis, and this was the first week she’d actually missed a session. She was worried about it, but the dialysis nurse who trained her told her not to worry and that she was very compliant and didn’t have anything to worry about. She had planned to do dialysis on Monday, but with the missed day, she needed to get a session in on Sunday night. We had another late night waiting up for her to finish the session. Neither of us made it through diaysys without sleeping; we both conked out for a while!

I had missed getting a shape-up from my barber last time I was in Nash since he was in London on vacation, and I don’t have time to schedule anything back home. Since Amanda originally planned to do dialysis on Monday morning, I made an appointment with my barber then. Amanda ended up going with me, it wasn’t at the usual spot but at his new second location across town. We got all caught up, and I got to hear all about his London trip. While we were on the other side of town, we decided to stop by Opry Mills mall. There is a boot store that has a buy-one-get-three deal on all its boots. We’d been wanting to see what it was all about. The boots are ok and marked up to make the difference, but still not a bad deal. A perfect deal for Amanda with lots of girl choices (yes, plenty of white boots too, gag me!), not so much for the guys who wear the big size, that’s always at the end of the rack! We made a loop around the mall and had lunch in their food court at a Mediterranean place. The loop was a lot for Amanda; her knee is giving her trouble. I’ve been prodding her to go back to PT and rehab.

After we were back at the apartment, I needed to go to work on the Yukon. First, I had to let it cool down a bit. I was replacing the thermostat and the coolant temperature sensor, and didn’t want to get burned by the hot coolant. I wanted to get the oil changed for Amanda while I was there, so she didn’t have to mess with it, too. After we were back, we spent the evening reorganizing dialysis supplies and taking inventory. This left us with no chill time on this trip. Last trip, Amanda didn’t want to stay at the apartment much, since that’s most of her life here. We didn’t spend much time there this trip, for sure! It was a busy trip, and Amanda said she’d need a few days to recover after this birthday weekend.

As I did on my last trip, I booked my next trip while I was in Nashville—three weeks from this one. Three weeks gone, three weeks there, not what we’d prefer, but I have to keep us afloat. I’d consider moving my return flight up to early in the morning, fearing a hot, no-AC drive home, but decided against it and kept my 11 am flight. Amanda dropped me off, then went out shopping. She wanted to check out a church thrift store that is on the way from the apartment to the airport. I kept getting pics of shirts on my flight to approve of. It was a good find with set prices, something like $3 per shirt. It’s only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I know what Amanda will be doing on those days from now on! She milled around and wasn’t even back to the apartment till I was halfway back on my drive home from the airport. I think she fights the sadness of my leaving with a little retail therapy! 

When I got back to the Burb, I needed to check the AC first. I was praying it wouldn’t be anything expensive after doing the work on the rack and pinion on my last trip home. These trips are cutting into any vehicle repair money we have. As I was checking the fuse and about to swap a relay, I noticed the culprit, a hanging belt. It was an easy fix, and I had everything I needed. I was on the road in no time, and with AC in the 90-degree heat. I was beyond thankful for the no-cost fix and the cool air!

This isn’t getting any easier with all we have going on. My trips are getting shorter; I can only be gone from work for so long. We are just up against a wall with our finances. I know Amanda isn’t happy about it, but it’s just the battle we have to face right now. The time apart isn’t easy, and it’s only getting harder with things like the car issues and the flood. This was a good reset and a fun, busy weekend for her birthday, but leaving is always hard. I know it’s worse for her than for me; I’m too busy with work at home, and it keeps my mind off things. We’ve seen God get us through worse and know He’ll pull us through this. 

On my way home, I heard a song by Patrick Mayberry-“Breakthrough Miracle Power”-words I needed to hear in the moment. The song starts with ‘The odds stacked against me, I’m surrounded on all sides, But I’ve heard you can part the waters, So in your name come and turn the tide. I’m staring at this mountain, No chance I’m getting through, But I’ve heard they can melt before You, So in Your name I’m asking it to move.’ The chorus goes on, ‘As long as You’re in it, The story’s not finished, I know you’ve overcome, So I know I overcome.’

That’s where we are up against a mountain that we can’t get through, but we know someone who can. I’ve had some powerful words spoken to me in the midst of this from God. He’s really been pounding me and narrowing things down. I don’t think He’d be doing that, preparing me for something if He wasn’t going to move the mountains and part the waters for us. We’re holding on, and as I tell most when they ask how we’re doing, “We’re hanging in there.” The only thing that could get us through all of this is by hanging on to Him and keeping our eyes on the breakthrough miracle power that we know is just around the corner.