Unexpected Heroes

I have struggled with depression lately.  Life has not been going well, to say the least.  It seems like the old adage "everything that can go wrong will go wrong" is being fulfilled in my life.  I won't go blow by blow through the list of things that have been tearing me down lately, because, really, who wants to write down all the things that have them depressed?!?  Besides, if you have been following this blog, you already know most of it.  The two most recent things, though, came right on top of each other yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon I discovered that my teaching contract has been reduced by more than I had been lead to believe last spring.  So I will be making even less than I had anticipated.  That comes as an extra blow on top of our current financial situation.  It also is a psychological blow, because I have to wonder how much the district actually values me if they are willing to slash my income so drastically while the administrators making these decisions make six figure salaries.  It is very easy to cut the budget when you don't personally know the people whose lives suffer for that decision.

The second setback came when I got home from work in the evening and found out that the Expedition broke down yesterday.  The day before school starts.

We only have two cars.  I drive the Alero and the kids use the Expedition.  Bill has a work truck... at least when he is working and not recovering from major surgery.

Ah!  I felt like the Universe has it out for me!  Or like God is picking on me.  I do not have the patience of Job, it seems.  I really had a hard time finding anything to feel good about last night.

Do you remember that cheesy song from the musical 'Annie'?  "The Son Will Come Out Tomorrow"

Bet your bottom dollar!

So, today my brother-in-law, Craig, came over to our house and fixed the Expedition for us!  He has a traveling auto repair service business.  I could count on one hand the number of times I have seen him without grease all over his hands and/or clothing.  Years ago I was self absorbed enough to be critical of that.  I snobbishly looked down on him for not being more neat and tidy in his appearance.

You know what?  Today Craig is my hero!  He was the answer to my unspoken prayer (because I was too mad at God to pray).  He spent a working day at our house putting our car to rights simply because we are family and he had a way to help.  He will probably never know what a burden was lifted from my heart this afternoon, thanks to him.

And after my heart felt not quite so heavy, I was able to look back on the other heroes who have been quietly helping us through this sinkhole we have found ourselves in.

My niece, Kristy, gave us a 'Bountiful Basket' the week after Bill got home from the hospital.  'Bountiful Baskets' is a local phenomenon/business.  It is a kind of like subscribing to a dairy delivery, only it is local produce instead of dairy.  So Kristy brought over a whole "basket" full of fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables at a time when I wasn't sure of our grocery budget.  We ended up only needing to buy bare basics at the store that week.

My sister-in-law, Crystal, and her husband, Jeff, took us on that fabulous week of adventure to Steamboat Springs that took my mind off of things for a while, then insisted we keep all the leftover groceries from the trip!  Again, I had a stocked fridge!  That was really incredible!

My sister, Kirsten, and her husband, Paul, volunteered to pay Will's lacrosse fees for this fall since that isn't on the 'need' budget list and would have had to be cut until the finances are back to where they should be.  That was one I agonized over because I hated the thought of Will missing out.  They also bought dog food for our dogs and have had us over to dinner.  My brother, Erik, and his wife, Deanna, have also had us over for dinner several times and/or brought dinner to us.

Bill's work, ESP Excavation, worked it out so that Bill could receive some of next year's vacation pay to help us meet our bills.  Thanks, Liz, for taking care of that!

When one of the line items on Bill's physical therapy bill got rejected by the insurance, the PT, Russ, told him not to worry about it and just crossed that item off the bill altogether.

The manager at Rubio's, Eva, gave us our dinner for free last week, just because she was glad to see us.  And today, our friend, David, gave Bill a gift card for Rubio's as a thank you for taking care of their dogs while they were away.  Another date night paid for!

It is very easy to get sucked down into a vortex of depression when you think of all the things that go wrong in our lives.  What is more amazing, though, is the number of people in our lives who quietly step in and smooth the way when the going gets rough.  Each one of these people stepped in and became an unexpected hero at a time when I needed it most.

Thank you.