Niki is Going to be a Great Mom

I wanted to write a quick note to give you all a glimpse into why Niki is going to be a great mother. On our way back from our final vacation before becoming parents (more on that later), our car had a melt down. Literally. The engine overheated...there was a ton of smoke...and then the car shut down. We managed to safely pull off on the side of the road. Luckily, we are a part of a roadside assistance program with our insurance company, so we got towed to Salisbury, MD for free. When we got to the repair shop, we discovered that our radiator was completely busted, and that they would have to order a new one. The problem was that it was Labor Day and all of their vendors were closed. They found one vendor open that actually had our radiator (a miracle in and of itself), but that vendor's driver had they day off. The mechanics apologized and told us they would have to fix it the following day. So, I was resigned to the fact that we were going to have to stay in Salisbury for the night, call work and let them know we would be out, and reschedule our baby appointment...but not Niki. She was going to solve the problem. She does not accept defeat. Niki just happened to have a friend from college who lives in Salisbury. (She knows people everywhere...which is another aspect of why she is going to rock as a mom...she loves to make friends!) So, she calls her friend and gets her to agree to drop everything she is doing and drive twenty miles away in Labor Day beach traffic to the one vendor who has our radiator. Of course, it didn't take much convincing...Niki is a great person and therefore has amazing friends. In the meantime, I am doubting the plan will work at all because the auto part dealer with the radiator has told me repeatedly on the phone that they are closing at 1:00 PM, meaning that our friend only has 20 minutes to get there. But, again, Niki will not accept defeat. She calls the man at the store and convinces him to wait to close down shop...and guess what?!?! He agrees that he will wait. Fortunately, he didn't have to. Our friend got there in time, and we became the owners of a brand new radiator! Now flash forward 5 hours later...The radiator is installed, and it is time to pay the bill...we find out that because we had a friend pick up and deliver the radiator, we saved $200 - $250 dollars! All because Niki refused to give up! And that is not all: Our insurance told us that if we got towed to this specific mechanic, we would get 10% off of the total. But that did not show up in the final bill. Well, after seven hours stuck in the waiting room of a mechanic shop, I was ready to pay the bill and get on the road without the discount. But Niki called the insurance company, who called the mechanic, who got his manager involved, and we got 10% taken off the bill! If it had all been up to me, we would have had to pay to stay an extra night in a hotel, an extra $200 dollars for a radiator, and we would not have gotten the discount on the bill. But I am married to an amazing woman. And she will be an amazing mother because she fights for what she believes is right and is unwilling to take no for an answer. She has the biggest heart and more determination than anyone I know. What child could ask for more in a mother? I am so thankful to have her in my corner as a partner on this journey of becoming parents - she is a rock star!