I am looking forward to summer. Lately, I have been pushing myself hard, taking extra work because my older son’s job is ending. Unfortunately, I do not have much push left in me. Whether the cause is stress or my autoimmune disease is irrelevant, especially since one affects the other.

Right now it’s a matter of powering through the end of the school year. Then I will have at least a couple weeks off. I’m tempted to spend them sleeping, but that won’t happen because, well, life happens.

A week or so ago, I got ready for work. I turned the ignition key in the car, and the low tire pressure warning came on. I was not concerned. I recently had a tire in the back go low, and figured it was the same thing. Then I started driving, but the car was making bad sounds. I immediately put my hazard lights on, and pulled onto a side street and found a spot to park. My driver’s side tire was flat.

I wanted to cry.

I had to get to work, so I started walking while looking at the bus schedule on my phone. The bus was not going to get me to work on time. I kept walking, and when I was about halfway there, I requested an Uber. The driver was nice, and I got to work just in time.

I arranged to have the car towed to Mavis Discount Tire. A good friend was able to pick me up from work at the end of the day and drop me at Mavis. In the end, it worked out. The tire valve had come loose, and the tire just needed air. I was also able to get the oil changed, and that was good, since I had been struggling to figure out a good day for that.

So it all worked out in the end. It was sort of a microcosm of life. You just keep going, and things eventually work out. It just takes effort, and sometimes, a lot of stress.