There’s something about motherhood, injury, and running late that creates the perfect storm for problem solving you never signed up for.

The boys and I were on your way to OT when I noticed the tire light pop on. Not the dramatic, pull over immediately your tire is exploding kind of light…. but the annoying “hey girl, something’s off” kind. So naturally, we swing into Starbucks because if I’m going to troubleshoot car problems, I’m at least going to do it caffeinated.

I grab a drink pull into a parking spot and get out in the cold to check these tires. Easy enough, right?

Except here’s the plot twist… my right hand doesn’t work properly. And apparently, my tire valve stem cap had been tightened by my loving husband with the strength of a thousand mechanics.

So here I am, one-handed, staring down this tiny plastic cap like it personally insulted me.

I call my husband, because being married to a mechanic should mean I am prepared for these moments. You’d think my car would be stocked like a traveling auto shop.

UMM, it is not. (something about the cobblers kids go without??)

I proudly inform him that I do however have: jumper cables, two screwdrivers, ratchet straps times a thousand, some zip ties and absolutely nothing helpful for this exact situation.

He starts brainstorming ways I could rig something together to act like pliers. Meanwhile, my brain is doing its own slightly chaotic mom-math while also calculating how late we’re about to be for OT… which, for the record, my brain HATES. While he’s still talking through options, it hits me.

“What if…. jumper cables…. but pliers?” I ask if that would work and not break them and he says give it a try.

I hang up (because with one working hand I cannot hold a phone, wrestle tools and maintain dignity all at once) and march toward the tire with my new invention.

I crouch down, hook the jumper cables onto the cap, and start twisting with every ounce of determination my poor overworked left hand has. It takes a few tries. A few slips. A few whispered words that were probably not appropriate for the backseat (thankfully doors were closed).

And then….

VICTORY!! The cap loosens; I remove it like I just defeated a final boss in a video game.

About that time, a teenage kid pulls into the parking spot next to me, watches me crouched beside my tire with jumper cables attached to it, and politely says: “Um…. ma’am…. you know that’s not where jumper cables go, right?” I look up and say, “yep they’re my makeshift pliers!”

The confusion on this poor kid’s face will live rent-free in my memory forever.

I finally check the tire pressure expecting disaster. Turns out, it’s not flat-flat…. just low. Supposed to be 35, sitting at 27 (because of course the dramatic buildup and awesome invent leads to something mildly inconvenient instead of catastrophic.)

I call my husband back. He tells me it’s safe to drive for now but to swing by the shop later so he can throw it on the lift and check for nails or leaks.

And let me tell you…. while sitting at the shop later, I added one very important item to my car emergency kit:

Pliers!

Not jumper cables pretending to be pliers…. actual pliers.

But honestly, this whole thing got me thinking.

Sometimes life hands you situations where you don’t have the right tools. Sometimes your dominant hand doesn’t cooperate. Sometimes you’re late, overstimulated, and being judged by teenagers in a Starbucks parking lot.

And you still figure it out.

Not perfectly – not gracefully – not with the tools you expected. But you figured it out anyways.

Motherhood, injury, homeschooling, farm life, marriage, building businesses, building kids, building yourself… it’s a whole lot of standing in metaphorical parking lots holding jumper cables and thinking, well… this is what we’ve got. (Cue song by forest frank – Lemonade! …. life gave me some lemons but my Jesus he be makin lemonade)

There’s something powerful about realizing resourcefulness isn’t about having everything you need. It’s about trusting that you can problem solve with whatever is in your hands… or in my case, whatever is in my one working hand.

Also pro tip from your friendly mechanic’s wife: PUT PLIERS IN YOUR CAR! and maybe don’t let your husband tighten the valve stem caps… just sayin~