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Earlier this week, I finally conceived my plan of attack. I have been tired of staring at the check engine light on my Odyssey. After some exploration, I discovered a cool thing about Youtube – you can find videos to help you fix your vehicle.

I finally knew what to do. I got a set of metric sockets earlier today, and a can of stuff that eats away carbon, and I waited for the right opportunity.

Tonight, after the kids were in bed, I made my way to our garage and got to it.

It felt GREAT to take part of the van engine apart, and finally reveal the culprit. After disconnecting hoses and unclipping sensor wires, and removing nuts and bolts, I finally lifted the air intake cover off the engine, and there was the carbon-clogged EGR port. It was COMPLETELY blocked.

I cleaned out the part still attached to the engine, and then I cleaned out the part on the cover that I removed from the engine. It felt so good to get it all opened up again and clean.

I put things back together. I felt joy at doing this job.

Once everything was put together again, I opened the garage door and started the van engine. What a beautiful sound. The engine sounded as good as it ever has.

It took me just one hour. I spent around $29 on the socket set, a driver extension, and a can of stuff to eat away the carbon. I saved myself over $300 by doing it myself. It felt REALLY good.

I grabbed the container of pumice goop and went into the bathroom to wash the engine grime off my hands. I knew to use just the goop first without water, and I enjoyed seeing the blue pumice turn black on my hands, knowing that it was getting the junk off my skin.

I slowly added water and watched the black goop wash down the drain. One thing surprised me, however. I looked at my hands and saw that much of the black goop was still around the edges of my finger nails.

See this detail suddenly transported my thoughts to a memory of standing in the bathroom of the home where I grew up, watching my dad wash his hands after coming home from working in the garage. That was his job for many, many years – working as an auto mechanic.

I loved standing in that bathroom by the blue ceramic sink watching him wash away the engine grime that had accumulated on his hands during the day.

I remember seeeing the dark grimey parts accumulate around the edges of his fingernails. He never really got it all off. It was just how his hands looked after he washed them. I loved being there next to him, watching him wash the day’s work off his hands. It meant that my dad was HOME.

It was always GREAT to have my Dad home. He was like an anchor for me and for our family. When He was home, everything was okay. To stand next to him in the bathroom while he washed his hands was like getting to be part of the “welcome home” ceremony that happened each day. It was joy to have him home after his day of work at the garage.

So, tonight I was given the gift of remembering my dad’s hands; and I was given the gift of seeing his hands in mine. I dont’ know all that much about engines, but I love learning about them, and I love digging in and fixing stuff on the van. I love it. But, tonight, the best part working on the van was to be suddenly surprised by seeing my Dad’s hands in my own hands and remembering all that he did and all that he was to me as a boy.

I’m thankful for my Dad’s hands and all that they represented in my life then…..and now.

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