Welcome back to Tire Mom! As I set out from Kansas City, MO, was embarking on a goal to get to five states and buy five sets of tires – in one week. That would have been a piece of cake back east where states are so close together and you can cross from New York to Jersey without even knowing it. The western states, on the other hand, are huge and spread out. But I was determined. Having mini-goals kept me moving forward.

Kansas was my first state in the one week. My next stop was Omaha, Nebraska, where I didn’t have an appointment with a recipient. So I went straight to a warehouse tire department and waited for that inner nudge that always led me to the right person. And there she was, Christy, Tire Mom #27. She was headed out west herself, for a wedding, and she wasn’t comfortable with the condition of her tires. 

Me and Christy

I wasn’t either, and soon she had a new set. More and more I was feeling as if the people who accepted my gift were helping me out, as much as vice versa. They listened to a short version of my story. They validated the importance of my mission. And they made the highways a little safer. 

Me at Boys Town

I packed a lot into the rest of the day – stopping at Boy’s Town, finding a “long lost” relative’s grave in a cemetery and washing the gravestone, and visiting the Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha. As lovely as all of that was, the most satisfying moment was knowing that Christy could drive away with confidence with new tires. I hoped she enjoyed the wedding. 

Long Lost Family:)

If you want to comment – and, as always, I hope you do – will you tell us about your most recent big goal? It doesn’t have to be five states in five days (who else but me DOES that?). It only has to be important to you. 

Me at Winter Quarter’s Temple

Stay safe,

Diana Hubner