We’re a one car family. For now. For the last 11 months.
For Mother’s Day, 2003, Nate bought me a shiny, blue BMW. Oh yes. He did good. I’m ashamed to say quite how much I loved that car. I must say~ I’m a fast driver. I AM a California driver…I did learn how to drive there after all. This car took me places and it was stylish, to boot.
Greyley loved it too and we did our best to keep it nice, which has been a big obstacle for me since having kids. I can’t seem to keep a car clean for more than a minute.
Close to a year after Indigo came, the kids and I “moved on up” to a nice, modest SUV. I sadly, but lovingly, bequeathed the keys to my car to Nate. He took to the move with unbridled joy~ he had been driving a KIA Sportage that was trouble from day one. It was a good move for him.
I tried not to cringe when Shiny, Blue began to smell of socks and McDonald’s. She wasn’t mine anymore. Not really. I did look at her longingly now and then, though.
Eleven months ago, Indigo and I were visiting my parents. Greyley and Nate were going to meet us when Greyley got out for spring break. Before they could come, they were in a car accident. Avoiding a semi-truck, they slid on ice and crashed into a sign. You know the signs that are on entrance ramps? About 5 feet tall? The pole came into the front windshield about a foot…right by my two babies’ faces.
Nate and Greyley were fine. They were badly shaken up, but no injuries. Thank the good Lord for protecting them. Shiny, Blue didn’t fare so well. She was totaled.
For several reasons, we haven’t bought a new car. I won’t go into all those reasons, but they’re good ones. That sounds so mysterious, doesn’t it.
It’s been a sacrifice for all of us, but we’ve managed. We’re off the beaten path. We live twenty-five minutes from church and work, so it has made it a little extra challenging. It has been surprisingly OK, though, if I must tell you the truth. And I must. I do. Always.
There are a few things I miss.
I like the freedom of running out whenever I want~ who doesn’t?!
I just like knowing a vehicle is out there, ready and waiting. In case of emergency. Or whatever.
It saves time~ meeting people or going out on your time frame versus waiting for a ride or going when the car happens to be home.
But wait~ there are actually benefits of NOT having two cars.
We’re saving loads of gas.
My spending has lowered…dramatically.
It takes powerful brain cells to find ways to get places, so I should be one step further from Alzheimer’s. Eek, or is it the other way around? Moving on.
When I don’t want to go somewhere, I don’t have to. I choose to think of it this way, instead of that I can’t.
I am guilt-free. It’s not that I am ditching something important~ I HAVE NO WAY TO GET THERE! Hallelu.
When I need something from the store, I can’t just run out and get it…so Nate gets to do that on his way home.
That’s what I like to call, “Win, Win,” my friends.
So last night when I wanted to go to the fabric store to get material for a new scarf, stop by Target for groceries and a meander through the Valentine decor, and then go on to choir practice? I couldn’t, because Nate left for work and could not get back home in time to pick us up.
What did we do? We had a delightful night of American Idol. I worked on laundry. I checked my email and played with the kids…and didn’t have an ounce of guilt while doing so. That’s the best part.