Mobility is a good thing

Finally, after a month of waiting, arguing, and general frustration, the van is finally fixed. We got it towed to Midas this afternoon, and all it took was a few hours. After having parts thrown at my car for the past month, it turns out that the problem was the catalytic converter. Two hundred dollars and three hours later, I'm driving away in my own vehicle again.

For the first time in a month, I stopped at the store and wandered around with nobody waiting on me. There was no need to worry about who was expecting me when, or whether someone else needed their car. In the morning, I don't have to worry about someone else being ready to drive me to school. If I want to go sit in the library for a while after class, I can. If I want to go pick up lunch afterward, I don't have to ask anyone's permission. If I get out of class early, I won't have to wait around for my ride.

Now that I am able to drive myself, it's time for me to start really working at finding a job. As much as I'd like to be able to focus my time on the kids and my schoolwork, I just can't afford not to work. For one, I need to get my own place. As much as I am thankful to my aunt for letting me stay here, I need a place where I have some sort of privacy, somewhere that I can leave my homework out without worrying about who's going to set what on top of it. Somewhere I can go to sleep without having folks up watching TV at all hours in the same room. To have that, I need to get a job. I only hope I can find one that pays enough.