July 21 - Oh hell....thank heaven!

Mika and I get Mondays off, which is nice for running errands, making vet appointments, etc. We tried to run every errand we possibly could while back in KC, including a trip to the vet for a rabies vaccination, a stop at Dressler's pet supply, then on to the election board to vote early, a quick visit at my old job to see friends, and finally on the my mom's work to show Mika off.

Each of these stops only help in the socialization process. More people to meet, more new experiences. Sometimes I am surprised by things we encounter and how she reacts to things. For example, while at my old job someone walked by pushing a wobbly old cart. Mika spooked so I realized this is something she needs to become accustomed to. I asked the employee to walk by again and again until Mik became comfortable. I also had the opportunity to expose her to riding in an elevator, which she handled pretty well. I find if you give them a command like sit or down on the first sign of nervousness, it gives them something to do other than just freak out.

Back at home I took a nap with my boys before loading up the car with all the things I forgot to take with me when I moved in. Mika and I were on the road by 5 p.m., headed back to school. Mika promptly fell fast asleep and it was smooth sailing until we hit Columbia when I noticed my check engine light came on.

I pulled over at a gas station to check my gas cap, oil, and coolant. All the fluid levels were full and the car's performance seemed normal. It was after-hours so getting the car serviced in Columbia was not a possibility. I made the decision to drive on and called my family to warn them to be on call if I had any further trouble. I promptly climbed back into my car and proceeded to drop my cell phone into a cup of water intended for the dog. Oh #!@%*! Yes, the cell phone I was counting on as my life-line in case of an emergency suffered a VERY untimely death.

With 2 hrs to go and the sun going down, we headed on toward St Louis, sweating bullets the whole way. Ok, I was sweating bullets; Mika was sleeping. The whole rest of the way I was praying and memorizing mile markers in case I needed to know exactly where we were. "Dear Lord, please let us make it back safely!" One hundred and forty miles and several a capella church hymns later we made it safely back to school. "Praise Jesus!"

It was so great to go home for the weekend, but even more of a relief to make it back to school. Now, if I can just figure out what's wrong with my car...