It felt cooler than usual as soon as I walked in the door. It’s February, so I didn’t think much of it at the time. I’d just got back from dropping Emory off at daycare, so I felt like my body was still cold from being out in the 20-degree weather that had smacked me in the face when I’d left an hour earlier.
So I went about my business. I went down to the basement to get a quick jog in on the Peloton before I had to log on to my computer for work. I had a long day ahead. On this particular Friday, I was excited because I was heading to Miami later in the day for the Miami Half Marathon, a race I’d been wanting to run for years. After my workout and shower, it was still cold. I went around the house and, sure enough, there was cold air blowing out of all the vents.
While there was obviously some concern, panic didn’t set in just yet. Since we live in an older home, little things like this pop up from time to time. With the furnace, it usually was just a matter of resetting it and everything would be cool – no pun intended.
I did that and nothing changed. Tried it again, and waited a few minutes longer, still nothing. At this point, I’m looking at the clock and calculating how much time I had until it was time for me to head to the airport. I was in good shape to figure something out – for now.
Contemplating what to do next, it hit me that it never fails. There’s always something. Always something that pops up at the most inopportune time. That’s life. And as I’ve aged and experienced different things, I’ve accepted this unfortunate reality. As dads, we have to be prepared because life is gonna life all the time. It could be a family issue, something with your kids at school, your spouse or partner may get sick, or something at the house breaks down. When this happens, as it most certainly will, how we respond to the adversity that we’re faced with will determine in part how successful the solution will be. We can either fold under pressure and watch things completely fall apart, or we can take a deep breath, develop a plan of action, and figure out the best way to solve the problem in front of us.
After a couple of (failed) YouTube tutorials, I realized this wasn’t going to be a quick fix. So, here I was, with my wife and newborn in the house, feeling the house get cooler and cooler by the minute. And at the same time, looking at the clock and knowing that in a few short hours I was scheduled to leave. Do I cancel? I mean, this was a race I’d trained for, and looked forward to for months. And not to mention paid for. I couldn’t back out at the 11th hour, right? It was one of those life moments that I was faced with that required me to make some big boy decisions. One that I’d probably second guess, but would have to make.
A couple of hours later, the HVAC guy came by and confirmed what I’d suspected. The furnace was broken. Specifically, a motor part that makes it run was damaged. It was a pretty common thing according to him. It could be fixed, which was good news. The bad news? The part was on backorder and with it being Friday, the earliest they could get to it would be Monday. The earliest. He understood my dilemma and assured me he’d do whatever he could to expedite things. But the reality was, we’d probably be without heat for the next few days.
After talking to my wife, the best plan of action was for her and the kids to go over to grandmas, who thankfully lives 15 minutes away. They’d set up shop there until things were fixed. I felt this would allow her and the kids to be in a safe, warm environment and I would still be able to make the trip. But believe me, the entire time I was gone, I thought about whether it was the right call. There was nothing I could have done other than sit with them. Even when checking in with them via FaceTime while I was away and seeing that everything was fine, there was guilt lingering inside of me.
Nonetheless, I was able to run my race and achieve a goal I’d set for myself, despite the rough start to my trip.
Running the race represented what we go through in life, we have to stay the course, even though there will be challenges, setbacks, and obstacles. Overcoming those challenges and crossing the finishing will be more rewarding that you can imagine.
"Life is gonna life." Truer words were never spoken.