Let Life Happen

I wrote this in my blog about a year ago, and my sister reminded me that I had it.

BAM! Hey! So. These last couple of weeks have been quite interesting and certainly not planned on. It is crazy what life throws at you, when life throws things at you, and why life throws things at you. Once said by a good friend "Last time life threw something at me, it was a mixture of tomatoes and rotten bananas". This can be true. Like my hair, life also has a mind of its own. Of course we have control over a lot of things that happen to us, but the big guy up stairs sometimes has something different on his agenda for you. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, sometimes it makes you happy, sometimes sad, sometimes it's frustrating, sometimes it's rewarding, and sometimes... it's epic.

A couple weeks ago I went to Mesa with a friend of mine who had recently lived down there and needed help and company moving his stuff back to Utah. I finished my cosmotology apprenticeship and couldn't work yet because I didn't have my license so I had a full week of...nothing. So I agreed to go with him..mostly for the lack of Utah.. and the sun! So we drove down (mind you it was snowing in Utah) and spent Thursday thru Sunday at his uncles house. It was certainly a good time.. Kareoke Bar, Bon Fire, Mill Avenue, mission reunion, everything was super fun! We woke up Sunday morning, packed, and left around 11:00. About 1:00 in the middle of my lovely rendition of "You have stollen my HEEAAARRTTT" Woody rudly inturupted by telling me my car died. I laughed. Then I didn't anymore. We pulled off the road and was joined by three different cops one after another while we were waiting for a tow truck (it was a slow Sunday in middle of nowhere Arizona). Finally after many phone calls we were towed to Flagstaff about an hour away from where we broke down.  When we got there we took my car to a mechanic that happened to be open on Sunday's and told him to call us when they diagnosed the problem.  Well they never called.  So we went back right before they closed at 6:00 and they told us my engine seized...Aka: that sucks. 

Soooo we decided not to make any rational decisions until the morning since we were both pretty upset...mostly me.  So we went to sleep in the most lovely hotel room in flagstaff...the toilet flushed itself every 15 minutes and the damn train went by outside our window about every half hour.  It was awesome.  We woke up in the morning and Woody had this genius idea that we just rent a Uhaul and tow the car home ourselves.  It definetly sounded better than the alternatives.  So he called his dad to let him know what our plan was and his dad being the stud that he is, offered to just drive down and rescue us... and he did just that!  So he took off from Orem and drove the lovely 8 hour drive to Flagstaff.  Now you ask, what is there to do in Flagstaff for eight hours?  Wellll We went to an awesome diner for breakfast, visited "Woody's campgroud", saw a movie, played a lot of pool, went shopping, ate wings, hung out at barnes and noble, etc.. you get the idea.  Anyway it was a  pretty epic day! I guess me asking Woody over and over again if we could stay in Arizona another day really paid off... be careful what you wish for right?  While we were waiting for his dad he got news that he got laid off too... even more epic!  Not much else could go wrong, besides if it was snowing or we hated each other.  Luckily neither happened.  So his dad got there around 8:30 PM, hooked up my car, didn't even use the bathroom or eat or anything, and took off toward home.  We got home around 6:00 AM Tuesday morning.  On Saturday morning I got a text from my cousin that said "Hey Jill, I heard your car broke down, if you can get to Reno you can have our car that we couldn't sell before we moved to D.C."  WHAT! I know right? Holy cow! So after much deliberation my parents bought to plane tickets and flew me and Woody to Reno Sunday morning where we picked up the car and drove home.. yet another road trip test... passed! Thanks to the air in Flagstaff I haven't gone one day without seeing him.  I have learned a lot about gratitude from this experience.  Be grateful for the simple things. trials.  Family. decisions. education. prayer. good friends. laughter. cell phones. and good mechanics. Be grateful for people that God sends into your life when you least expect it.  Prepare to be surprised.  Let Life Happen.