A few weeks ago now, we traded in both our vehicles and bought a minivan. There was really no point in keeping both cars since the Man is getting ready to head out of the country for a few months, and we thought it was a better use of our resources, down grading to one car payment and one insurance bill while he was gone. Naturally, after we had "done the deed", we realized that this meant we'd be sharing a car for an undetermined number of weeks until he hit the road for real.
Sharing is fun, guys.
The first week, realizing that we were both in need of a pair of wheels for the majority of days, me for the mundane excitements of life with toddlers (grocery shopping! doctor's appointments! out of town brace fittings! oh my!) and the Man for multiple pre-deployment appointments that were lovingly spread all across base, we bit the bullet and rented a car. The concept was lost on the Little Man who couldn't understand why the Man's super cool and manly truck had been traded in for a wimpy white sedan.
Since then, however, we've been sharing the minivan. At least one or two days a week, the Man takes the car to work and the boys and I stay home and catch up on laundry or go places within walking distance. The other three to four days, we give him a ride there, and he catches a ride home. I admit that I keep waiting for him to just commandeer a cop car, but so far that hasn't happened. The disappointment on my part is crippling.
At first, this seemed like a hassle. Really, it did. We have two super active kids, the Man works odd hours, and I get cabin fever (yes, even in my super pregnant, lazy state). But lately, I don't know, my perspective has been changing.
Instead of being frazzled by eating breakfast in stages, I'm thinking of it as a luxury--we have our breakfast in multiple courses. How upscale is that! Instead of feeling rushed to get up in the morning, I'm seeing it as motivation to get my day started instead of lounging around 'til the boys drag me out of bed. Most of all, instead of seeing it as one more thing I have to take care of, I'm seeing it as precious extra moments as a whole family before the Man leaves.
I've also noticed that I am less apt to put off my trip to the commissary until we're all eating delivery pizza since I actually have to schedule it into my week.
Anyway, point being, in case you couldn't figure this out for yourself, sometimes what looks like an inconvenience is actually a blessing waiting to be acknowledged. And I am grateful to be a one car family for a little bit, and more than just for the fact that we're saving on gas these days.
Sharing is fun, guys.
The first week, realizing that we were both in need of a pair of wheels for the majority of days, me for the mundane excitements of life with toddlers (grocery shopping! doctor's appointments! out of town brace fittings! oh my!) and the Man for multiple pre-deployment appointments that were lovingly spread all across base, we bit the bullet and rented a car. The concept was lost on the Little Man who couldn't understand why the Man's super cool and manly truck had been traded in for a wimpy white sedan.
Since then, however, we've been sharing the minivan. At least one or two days a week, the Man takes the car to work and the boys and I stay home and catch up on laundry or go places within walking distance. The other three to four days, we give him a ride there, and he catches a ride home. I admit that I keep waiting for him to just commandeer a cop car, but so far that hasn't happened. The disappointment on my part is crippling.
At first, this seemed like a hassle. Really, it did. We have two super active kids, the Man works odd hours, and I get cabin fever (yes, even in my super pregnant, lazy state). But lately, I don't know, my perspective has been changing.
Instead of being frazzled by eating breakfast in stages, I'm thinking of it as a luxury--we have our breakfast in multiple courses. How upscale is that! Instead of feeling rushed to get up in the morning, I'm seeing it as motivation to get my day started instead of lounging around 'til the boys drag me out of bed. Most of all, instead of seeing it as one more thing I have to take care of, I'm seeing it as precious extra moments as a whole family before the Man leaves.
I've also noticed that I am less apt to put off my trip to the commissary until we're all eating delivery pizza since I actually have to schedule it into my week.
Anyway, point being, in case you couldn't figure this out for yourself, sometimes what looks like an inconvenience is actually a blessing waiting to be acknowledged. And I am grateful to be a one car family for a little bit, and more than just for the fact that we're saving on gas these days.
2 comments:
I love this post, especially the title.
We were a one car family for years. We did spend a lot more time together and we got creative. While having two cars is a blessing, one was a blessing too. I didn't know you rented a car though. :)
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