I checked the oil in the Caravan when we stopped for bagels yesterday.

It was the first time I checked it since we got back from the big “Canada Loop” and it was down about a quart.

There must be a leak somewhere on the back side of the engine….the side that’s hard to see.

So….when we were running our other errands, I stopped at the auto parts store and bought a couple of quarts of oil….and put one of them in before we left the parts store parking lot.

Holy Smokes!

What’s that bulge in the upper radiator hose?

That wasn’t there before.

It looked like the part you squeeze on a blood pressure cuff.

So…I went back in to the parts store and bought a radiator hose…..and put it on when we got back home and the engine had cooled off.

Man….that was fortuitous to see that.

I’m glad we have an oil leak….I might not have seen that hose if I hadn’t been checking for another problem.

We went some crazy places on our trip up North.

We drove in some heavy traffic in unfamiliar surroundings and circumstances.

We actually paid some TOLLS.

We had to pay to get to continue on our way.

And….that hose didn’t burst and leave us stranded anywhere on the journey.

That would have been horrible.

HORRIBLE.

That hose was one thing that I never worried about….because I didn’t know that it might be a problem.

If you can’t see a problem, you don’t really worry about it too much.

That hose didn’t burst…but it sure did bulge yesterday.

Bulge.

That’s a weird word….”bulge”.

What a blessing to see a problem when we can actually have some power to fix it.

What a blessing when a small problem gives me a chance to fix it before it becomes a major emergency.

I hope that I notice some problems that are real before they have a chance to blow up in my face.

Thank goodness for “bulges”…..they warn me of the bursting to come.

Problems I can see are fixable.

May as well be thankful for “fixable”.