Lately it's been getting tougher. The way our schedules have worked out I often have to drop off Alex at work and pick him up later. Let me tell you, after living without rush hour for two years it's tough being dropped back into the middle of it again. Spending so many hours in the car drives me crazy. And then there are days when we both need the car and one of us (usually me) is stranded. The other day I was so frustrated with our situation that I sent out a tweet into the twittersphere expressing my frustration. My amazing friend, Brigitte, responded with, "The inconvenience goes away eventually. We've been one year with one car! We love it. Waking up early and stopping what I'm doing to pick Tom up can get annoying, but we get a weekly date night with our savings!" And they live in Miami (in case you didn't know...living in Miami with one car is almost unheard of). I thought about it and she is so right. I realized I was being selfish and wanting everything to be easy. I wanted to commute five minutes to work and not a minute more. I wanted to be able to jump in the car whenever I wanted and go where ever I wanted without giving it a second thought. And yes, it's nice to be able to do those things. But it's also pretty nice that we no longer have $6,000 of debt looming over our heads. And it's nice to spend time in the car together on the long drive home...talking and listening to Mark Driscoll sermons (we're learning about Genesis right now). And it's nice to know that I have friends who are willing to give me a ride to work or the grocery store when they are able to. And sometimes it's nice being stranded at home. I get to cuddle with Jaxon and catch up on my house cleaning.
So yes, the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences. And being a one-car family isn't so bad.
(here's a shot of us in our wedding day car - love that MiniCooper)
10 comments:
If you ever need a lift, text me! I'll try and help :)
Fabulous blog! You're a great writer. (:
I love this post! you make me want to be a one car family!
I just had a moment this past week where I had a pity party due to a one-car inconvenience (O.C.I.), and you just made me feel better. Thanks! :)
We've been a one car family since January. I always say I'm on lockdown Monday-Friday since I'm a stay at home mom, but it's really not that bad. I get more exercise than I would if I had a car. It's only tough when I have to take the kids to an appointment and my husband works 30 miles away... we make it work and we're just trusting the Lord to provide another car. It is really nice not having a car payment, car insurance, buying more gas, maintenance, etc. And we're down to just our Honda Civic as well.
We too, WERE a one car family (by accident lol)! Jacob flooded his car and we were down to one for over a year and really had no serious issues with it! After a while Jake decided he wanted his own car and we got the money to pay in full for an older model so we did, and then MY car broke down! So we are back to one car...and I'm totally fine with that! (I took it as a sign from God anyways, haha) As a matter of fact, once my car gets fixed we are planning on trading both of ours in for a newer car with less miles, but still back one. I am really thankful that it works out in our favor! I'm all for it :)
I've been considering selling my car now that I'm unemployed but no car in Miami is just IMPOSSIBLE.
Good luck toughing it out. It can't be easy sharing a car.
Joe and I have been sharing cars for almost 2 yrs now. His mustang needs a lot of work, and since we can't afford to fix it for now, we decided to just share cars. It was challenging at first, but I gotta admit i've come to love the extra time we get. Imagine I have to drop off and pick him up at bird rd and 72ave. That's quite a ways to go, esp in the morning. But we use our morning drive as our prayer time and I'm loving it.
We're a one-car family as well...AND we have two girls! It's not so bad though. I stay home with the girls so we go to the park, walk around. And the days I need it, Michael drops it off. Thank God our church is literally 2 minutes away so I could drop him off, or someone else gives him a ride.
On days when the girls have Doc appts, etc. he comes along. His job is very flexible so whenever I need him, he's there. :)
I love that wedding photo so much.
Great blog.
xo
Kate
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