I'm lucky that I work with a friend whose husband does vehicle repair on the side. He does a great job, at a great price and is very tolerant of my husband doing partial work on our vans (when it's discovered that the job is too difficult or requires special tools, etc.)

The brake line repair that my husband attempted on our conversion van in January got stalled, and was finally brought to our friend at the end of March. Luckily, the timing worked out perfect as our minivan started to shimmy at 40mph, and became quite scary to drive around. So we dropped off scary van for the newly repaired van. Whew!

Both vans are repaired. Our friends, knowing our medical situation of late and the forthcoming bills, said to pay them whenever, or make payments, or do whatever we can afford. We thanked them graciously, but told them to give us the bill. I got it today. Well, all I can say is what very dear friends they are. I'm paying them a little more than what they charged, and will give them a giftcard for a restaurant that I think they will enjoy.

We are very blessed in friends! We believe wholeheartedly in what comes around, goes around - so we'll be looking for our opportunity to be 'a friend indeed to a friend in need', whether for this family or for another. It all works out, and adds such richness and depth to our lives. Take care!