My Car and I
July 19, 2009
My husband has been trying to talk me into a new car. It seems my Honda Civic does not live up to his standards for me.
“You deserve a new car,” he tells me.
“My Civic is practical,” I respond and so we go around and around.
But this week, when he offered to wash the Civic and sprayed cold water onto a hot windshield – well, I had to wonder if it wasn’t some sort of sabotage. My front windshield now has a question mark shaped crack in the middle of it.
I spent the week trying to be all zen about it. What is that question mark trying to tell me?
I spent the week trying to all christian about it. How is that question mark a gift from above?
I spent the week trying to be all practical about it. I wonder how long before I get pulled over, get a fix it ticket and have to pay to have the windshield replaced. How much is that going to cost me?
Then my thoughts took a funny turn. I noticed how my car is beginning to reflect who I am.
The side doors are a bit dimpled, much like my legs, along the sides only, really.
There’s a big scratch on the rear bumper from when I ran into a wall. It draws unnecessary attention to the hind quarters of the car. I try to avoid this, but I always seem to sit in something.
There’s this really cool flame/wave design along the front, much like my wrinkled chin.
Now a cracked windshield. Well, I’ve been wearing contacts for a long time, and now my optometrist is telling me I also need reading glasses.
So I began to wonder … if I get a new car, will I improve?
A new car costs money. So will all the improvements I need.
Is it worth it?
Then I stopped to fill my reliable Civic up at the gas station and smiled. With mileage like that, I’d be crazy to turn in my lovely, aging car.
This morning when my husband suggested I needed a new car, I asked him if when I got more scratched and cracked and dimpled, he was going to turn me in.
He paused for a bit too long and is still in trouble.
This week, I will appreciate the true value of things and people: reliability and a shared history.
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