The best laid plans of mice and men, or so the saying goes.
I was so looking forward to my two weeks in Nashville after leaving Savannah. And let me start by saying, I had a great time. I got to reconnect with some old friends. I listened to some amazing live music. I saw a friend play at a honky tonk on Broadway 3 times. I ate good food. I met new people. I visited old haunts. I felt comfortable, at home, and like I had a sense of community for the first time in a very long time. It was so good for my soul, and it really helped me identify some things that I want in my life moving forward that have been missing since the pandemic hit, which was my ultimate objective when hitting the road. Find what is missing. So mission accomplished! Now I have the target in my sights.
But it was also way harder than I had hoped it would be. For some months, more than I would like to admit, my work life has been a massive struggle and is taking a toll on my mental, physical, and emotional health. I am putting the wheels in motion to make changes to rectify the situation but the economy, the job market, and being a single gal living on a single income has definitely slowed this process down. So to say that, especially at that time, I was always teetering on the edge of fragility would be an understatement.
My balance was tested on just my 3rd day in the city. I was driving from Nashville to Franklin to meet a friend for dinner when, in the middle of the highway at rush hour, my 12 year old steady steed suddenly went into limp mode. I was able to safely get into the breakdown lane and calmly assess the situation enough to know that I needed to try to drive the 9 miles to the shop (where I already had an appointment for 2 days later for some light maintenance) via back roads going no more than 35 mph, cause my poor car would just shut down if I tried to go any faster.
I got to the shop safely, where they were going to assess the issue and let me know on Thursday what the issue was. Then I proceeded to walk 2 miles in the rain to meet my friend. I needed the walk to blow off some steam, but in hindsight I probably should have evaluated how long the walk would be before I set off…but I didn’t, and I am stubborn, so walk I did.
Over the next 3 days I spent an insane amount of money on Ubers so I didn’t have to cancel any plans. But more importantly, I found out that my 12 year old Mazda 3 that, at best, was work about $5k, now has $13k worth of repairs and was now worth $600 dollars. The weighing of options (no, I was never going to do the whole $13k list)...trying to determine if it made sense to do just enough to safely get home or if I should take the $600 and use it to pay for a rental car to drive home…took just about everything out of me and resulted in a mental health day being taken that Friday. The decision was made to take the $$, get the rental car, enjoy the rest of my time in Nashville and figure out the car situation when I got back to New England.
So, what is the point of sharing all of this? The point is this, it will all work out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it isn’t the end. And…do what you need to do for your sanity and emotional well-being. I could have fought, I could have gotten a second assessment of the repairs, I could have paid just enough to get it to drive me safely back to New England and then dealt with the extensive repairs then. But I would not have felt safe. I would not have been able to enjoy the rest of my time in Nashville the way I wanted to. And for what reason, pride?!
Make plans. Get excited for those plans. And just know that if something throws a wrench in your wheel (or $13k worth of wrenches)...make the decision that is best for you, and no one else. I made it home. I now have a brand new car. It all worked out in the end.