The other day when David got paid he wanted to stop by the lawyerâs office to check on a ticket he had gotten. The Lawyers office is down the street from Walmart, so we stopped there after we finished grocery shopping. Iâm really grateful for how things are being handled right now.
The ticket isnât due until August, and because of that timing, we were able to get insurance back on the car. That one thing lifted a huge weight off my chest. But if I hadn’t gone inside with David he would have paid the ticket then and because I opted to wait we was able to pay for the insurance and also pay his mom back which was a blessing from the LORD.
Having insurance on the car means Charlie can resume driverâs ed again, and Davidâs travelâwhether itâs to the airport or even out Oklahomaâfeels a little safer and more secure. Itâs one of those things you donât realize youâre carrying until itâs not sitting on your shoulders anymore.
Some days arenât dramatic and they donât come with big celebrations or major changes. Theyâre just quietly relieving. The kind of relief that sneaks in while youâre still halfway thinking about groceries and what still needs to be done around the house. And honestly, I needed that kind of day.
Because even with that relief, life at home doesnât pause just because one piece finally settles into place. Charlie is still learning to drive with David helping him, but we still need to get Charlie to the Drivers License place for his permit to drive then we need to get proper insurance in place for Charlie on his car so he is legal.
That part still sits on my mind. Especially when theyâre out there practicing driving and Iâm thinking about brakes, safety, and all the things that canât be âfigured out later.â Thereâs a tension in thatâbetween progress and what still isnât finished.
And then thereâs August sitting right there in the background like itâs closer than it should be. Another $400 going out. Another deadline. Another reminder that everything has a timing to it, whether we feel ready or not. This stretches the budget even more and with Davids hours being cut it leads to even more stress.
What I keep circling back to, even in the middle of all of this, is how simple the solution sometimes looks on paper compared to how it plays out in real life. If we could consistently set aside $25 a week, that ticket would already be handled by the time August arrives. It wouldnât be hanging over us. It wouldnât be something we have to scramble for.
But getting everyone on the same page with that kind of planning isnât always simple. Not when daily life is already stretched, and not when everyone sees the urgency a little differently. So some days, I donât have a neat conclusion for it. Some days I donât have a tidy answer or a perfect plan that clicks into place. Some days I just sit with the reality of it all and try not to let it turn into overwhelm.
Because even with the stress and the frustration that comes and goes, there are still these small wins. Getting insurance back. Moving past one barrier. Making the next step possible instead of blocked. And maybe thatâs what today really isâless about everything being fixed, and more about a few things finally loosening their grip long enough for us to breathe again. Not perfect. Not finished. But a little lighter than before.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
