Cars.
We all want one. A lot of people have one. Or six. When I was a kid, my parents bought me a batter-powered cream & brown classic car. I can't remember the make, so the closest I could find is below. I couldn't get enough of it.
The Hawks Nest gets around in a single VW.
No, not that one---thought wouldn't that be brilliant?! We have a really great car that I bought 2 years ago from Mom Hawk. Days before our wedding, Hawk sold his Accord so that we could save money and live more simply with one car. People often respond in surprise when they hear that we share a car.
So in a spirit of encouragement, I offer you my Top 9 Reasons (because 10 is so cliche) I am grateful for our one-car lifestyle:
9. Any shared space means shared responsibility---and that's a good thing. Since we both can bring our messiness to the car, then we can't blame one over the other and we both have to chip in and clean it.
8. Less money goes toward insurance!
7. Less money goes toward gas!
6. Less pollution enters the atmosphere. Less waste in general, less use of resources.
5. When I need the car all day one day a week, I drive him to work. Having that morning time together, just listening to the radio, is fantastic.
4. I walk the mile to work those other 4 days. Brilliant idea. Being an extremely non-commital exerciser makes this a dream decision. I usually read while I walk, so I get in the personal time, the exercise, and the quiet at the start of the day.
3. It increases our communication. It requires that we both know each other's next-day schedule. With two cars, it would be very easy to be independent and to plan our own days without thought of the other. Having one car quickly forced us into thinking about the other person's life and needs and planning around them.
2. It increases our selflessness. Scheduling around each other's needs, driving each other around, going in early here or staying a bit late there, getting groceries...it's making us better people.
1. Simplicity is good for our marriage. Limiting mobility helps us slow down, choose each other over other opportunities, walk to the movie theater (a little over a mile), walk to the friend's house. You'd think it would be the opposite--rushing from here to there and sometimes, it is. But the majority of the time, there's a pleasant pause in preparation. We wait for and on each other.
We won't always stay a one-car family, but for now it is a great blessing! Happy Monday!
icj,
~j
i think i had the same car! it was the 80's right?
ReplyDeleteBEAUTIFUL! I love your 9 points. This is truly worth noting, so thank you for sharing it with me. You have me thinking now!
ReplyDeleteKatie