What do you see?

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I went fishing with my middle son today.  We had fun, I caught four fish and kept two.  I taught him again how to tie a fishing knot and how to clean a trout.  We wanted to go again on Wednesday but the truck has issues.

I've suspected I had a head gasket leak for some time now.  I'm past the suspecting point because today it got worse.  It got change the water pump worse because it didn't look like the water pump was working properly.  It's got 157,000 miles on it.  It did it's job.  Now there's a shiny new one.  And the truck still overheats.

We got about a mile from the second ex's (I'm really sorry I have to say that...and ashamed, by the way) house when the truck started to overheat.  We made it to her house without serious damage to the truck but decided to change the water pump after some preliminary troubleshooting.  We went and bought parts and tools because I was in Murray and my stuff is up here.  The kid will inherit the tools.  Except the 17" 3/8 drive breaker bar.  That's all mine.

Anyway, I was going to have young son help me do it in front of his house but her neighbor wouldn't hear of it.  He has a shop in his back yard, so we changed the water pump, the three of us in his shop.  For seven hours.

All in all, I think young son would have preferred fishing.

The head gasket has been suspect for a while now.  I figured it was going and I think it finally went today.  I was going to have my mom follow me home from West Jordan but she wasn't home and of course, I didn't have my phone so I had to trust and wing it.  I took two hours to drive back from Ogden.  There were a couple of tense moments but God got me through and the truck is now home.

I need to decide about the truck.  I'm OK at fixing some stuff.  Other stuff I'm not so good at.  The head gaskets lasted three years.  They should have lasted longer.  Things will be OK though.  I have a way to work all week and payday Friday I will figure out something.  Heck, someone may read this and give me a car.  You just never know how God will meet that need.  Or I will find the time to fix my truck.  Or whatever needs done will be done.  Faith in a loving God tells me that because whatever I needed today was provided for.  I didn't get stranded on the mountain.  I bought tools with my kid.  I used tools with my other kid.  A stranger blessed me.  His wife made us sweet tea all afternoon.  My glass was never empty.  We talked.  We bonded.  My son knows what tools are for now.  Using them will come with practice, but he knows what they're for.

And to me, the highest compliment my son could have ever paid me was when my hand was bleeding from scraping a knuckle.  I looked at it, wiped off the blood and kept working.  My son said to me, and he meant it, "Dad, you're a REAL MAN".

I'm trying, son...

I'm trying.


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