My Never Ending Journey

Not that anyone actually reads my blog, but more for myself.  I started this blog years ago when I needed someone to talk to, to share with, to just be there.  In ways, this blog should have been someone to share my experiences and later go back and say "remember when? and you made it through."

My last post should have been the beginning of the end.  The switch that turned on the light to the end of my tunnel.  It's not.

St. Louis Triathlon started my Summer 2017 Race Season.  It also ended it.  Coming in at the end of the bike portion of the Olympic Distance Triathlon, I only remember riding on my head and shoulder.  Later, my husband spoke with a race official who saw what happened.  While moving over to exit the course for transition, my front tire sunk into the putty of the expansion joint of the high way.  I rode a front wheelie for 10 - 15 seconds before flipping over the front of my bike.  My left foot was already out of my shoe for transition.  I bruised my inside arch.  I landed on my head, thank You God that I was wearing my aero helmet.  It saved my face.  It's cracked.  I had a concussion that took 2 ice bags to clear my vision.  My race was over.  The following 2 weeks I sported a black eye. 

This was May 21st.  I had x-rays to show I didn't have shoulder separation, but I am still having a hard time sleeping on my left side and need to go back to my chiropractor.  (He adjusted me enough that I can lift my left arm over my head again, but my should is still off somewhere.  I just can't afford the co-pays.)

I previously mentioned that we were going in for re-financing to finish our house starting in April.  End of July, the night before we finally had our closing date, we received the news that we no longer qualified and it fell through.  This was devastating.  We were relying on this to balance the scales and re-organize.  Stop paying $1k to someone else and put it into the house. We have nothing left to sell or give up.

Finally, a bit of good news.  We learned that the list of things that needed to be finished in order to obtain occupancy permits for the house was significantly shorter than we were originally led to believe.  We had something to work with.  And then the brakes fell off my car.

To fix the brakes on my car by an Auto Shop will cost $1,200.00.  We bought the tool needed to do it ourselves for $200 and I still need to order the parts for $300.   However, my coolant keeps dropping below the line meaning something else is going out (a pump?).

For the last month, I have been riding my bike home from work after being dropped off by my husband. This is actually saving money from buying gas.  However, I'm still not getting ahead.  School has started and I have to pay for after-school care.  $250 a month.  (There goes the gas money.)  But I get a nice 10 mile ride in before I get home.  I'm starting to run again in the mornings.  I look forward to starting to swim again this weekend.

All of this is a summary of my summer.  My kids have lived in the basement, watching TV.  No friends, no weekly outings.  Summer School for 6 weeks for my daughter.  Hanging out with Daddy at his office for my son.

But it hasn't all been bad.  We did spend an extended weekend in Southern Illinois for the July 4th weekend.  And we took our Girl Scout Troop to Camp Ondesonk for the Total Eclipse.  That will be a post on it's own.  For now, that is what keeps me going.