You know how “they” always say take care of yourself first?
Well, it’s true, you must put your own oxygen mask on first (and make sure your gas tank is full!)
For those of you who are my personal friends, and not just clients, you may recall I lost my closest friend in September. I was just developing a new normal, when her mom passed away, and so now I’m dealing with those emotions and travel plans for the funeral. (I’ll be out Jan. 28-Feb. 1, BTW)
However, this is a quick story on how I do need to take care of myself and my family first. With growing up in the middle of nowhere, I am usually very vigilant with filling my gas tank up when it gets to a half tank, and at the very least a quarter of a tank. Even though I now live less than a mile from a gas station, I still usually keep my tank at half or fuller.
This week I ended up taking my son to school two extra days than normal (usually carpool), and between finding out about the death, working on my clients projects, and driving Lincoln to school and extracurriculars, I didn’t notice how low the fuel gauge was.
My normal morning routine was thrown off on Thursday and I headed out the door for school drop off. Had the kid, his lunch and his backpack; had my water and my keys, but I forgot my purse… normally not a big deal. I go to school and come back (hour+ round trip).
On the way back from school I was listening to a podcast, and when I got to a quiet stretch of road decided to return a client call. When I was doing that I noticed that my need fuel light was on. I quickly glanced over at the “miles to empty” reading and it said 6 miles! I had JUST passed the last Tucson exit heading south, the next gas station was 15 miles. I immediately took the next exit, mapped it back to QT and it said 3.8 miles. I decided we’d see how trustworthy the miles to empty actually was!
I jumped back on interstate, being careful to not accelerate to fast and drove 55 mph back to the next exit. Thankfully the light was still green so I didn’t have to idle at that one… 1.8 miles to go and supposedly 3 miles left on the tank.
I got to the second light, and had to make a left hand turn… thankfully that light was still green and traffic was light.
It was at 0.3 miles to go and 1 mile left on the tank…I pulled up to the gas pump that was empty and it had a yellow bag on it!
I circled the parking lot and got another pump… made it with 1 mile left on the tank.
Now, I knew I had forgot my purse. Yet I also knew I had a $5 bill stashed in the van for emergencies and I figured it was a good time to set up Google Pay…
Google Pay wouldn’t work at the pump so I walked inside with my phone and my $5 bill. I asked the cashier if he knew how to use Google Pay, and he did, it seamlessly worked!!! I was able to prepay and fill my tank mostly up… and the van started! I made it back to my home office with 5 minutes to spare before another client call. Here’s my 3 tips…
- Use a mental checklist every time you go get in your vehicle… keys, water, wallet, etc.
- Stash a $5, $10 or $20 in your vehicle
- Check your fuel level every time you get in the vehicle…make it a habit!
Here’s to 2022 and making it your best year yet! Mine is off to a start, not a great one, but it’s started and I’m looking forward to every day I have on this earth, spending it with my family and friends and serving my clients.
THANK YOU for choosing Shield Bar Marketing as your partner or for simply being someone who tells others about us.
Sincerely,
Nikole Haumont, Founder
and the crew: Zeann, Renz, Jenelle, Sam, Bristy and Janrea
Thank you to Suburban Real Estate Group in Arizona for choosing us!
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