It’s been a tough couple of weeks around here. Who am I kidding, the last 18 months have been tough…lol….but the last couple of weeks I have felt the weight starting to settle on my shoulders again.
Because of the rough winter, we couldn’t work much from December through April. We have been working steadily for the past month or so, since the weather broke enough for us to get back to work, but the bigger jobs take time to get paid for, so money is very tight right now.
I currently owe the attorney handling our case $6,252.50. I have almost $8,000.00 in equipment payments that are slowly creeping past due. Our dump truck decided it was ready for a break two weeks ago, and now it needs just over $5,000.00 in repairs to be operational again. Then last week, my main machine decided to start blowing codes, so we have been working to get that resolved.
We have a good job scheduled for Monday, that I need that machine and the dump truck for. Fortunately, with the help from some amazing people at Cat, I believe we got the issues with the machine resolved today. Initially, we believed the cost to repair it was going to be thousands of dollars. One part alone was quoted at just over $4,000.00, but today, with the help of a Cat tech, we were able to get the parts we needed for just under $1,800.00, and the machine is running the way she is supposed to be again.
The dump truck cannot be fixed that easily, but I managed to find a dump trailer to rent that is not ridiculously expensive, so that is what we are going to roll with on Monday. The guys are taking it on a trial run tomorrow to landscape two of the projects we completed earlier in the month. Fingers crossed it does the job for us!
Even with all of this going on I am still happy, which, honestly, shocks the shit out of me…lol…because even five years ago, I would have been made physically ill by it. Instead of saying, “why me?”, I am like, “eh, whatever”, and I am filled with gratitude for all of the blessings that I have.
The people that we are completing the landscaping for tomorrow are amazing human beings, and I am so grateful that we got to help each of them fulfill their vision. One added an addition onto a house, so she can continue to live on her family farm in a beautiful, new in-law suite, while her daughter and her family enjoy the rest of the home. The other dreamt of a super-sized “man cave”…lol…a new pole barn with a three-car garage, office space, bathroom with access to his pool, and even a dog wash, and it turned out even better than any of us could have imagined. We might make more money on the “municipal” projects, and we have been blessed to meet some amazing people doing that work too, but there is something special about the projects where we can use our talents to help someone achieve their dreams.
I am also grateful to all of the people that I have spoken with over the course of the last two weeks, that have helped me with my equipment issues. The guys at Cat today were phenomenal. They went above and beyond to get someone out here, and they have no reason to. I am just a very small fish in a very big pond, yet they treated me like I was their only customer today.
The equipment rental people have also been amazing. It’s an incredibly busy time of the year, and many people rent instead of owning equipment, so inventory is low and my breakdowns have not had the best timing…lol. I have had to piece things together from different places, but all of them have been happy to work with me, to try to help in any way that they can, and to offer solutions that I might not have thought of on my own.
I believe that I am seeing God in action again. I truly believe that customer service is dead, so the help that I have gotten is nothing short of a miracle in my eyes...lol! I know that I am on the right path. God is still tossing the challenges at me, but He is also providing me with the resources that I need to succeed, and for that I am also grateful.
I will not just survive this; I am going to own it, conquer it, and be a much stronger person because of it! We are all faced with challenges in our lives. What are some of yours, and how have you conquered them? Or are you still working through them? If so, please don’t hesitate to reach out to God for help. He is always there, and always willing.
Much love to all of you, with Hope and Faith!