Cars

When I was 16 years old I had a dream, a desire, a want--I wanted a white convertible.  A cute little sports car where I could put the top down, drive around town, wave to my friends and tan all at the same time.  Oh, the freedom.  For a 16-year-old freedom could actually come with a car--any car. I just needed wheels!

And little did I know that over the next few decades I would become a car nut.  Not just any type of car though, I became a luxury car buff.  Not that I was always able to buy a luxury car, but I sure wanted to.

My first car--the one I bought with my own money cost all of $150.  It was a white Ford Comet.  It had plastic blue seats (which got steaming hot in the summer), lots of rust spots and brakes that barely worked.  I had to start stopping far back from stop lights, stop signs and cars in front of me--then pray that my car would roll to a stop before touching anything in my path. I got real good at coasting.  It's an art form.  Also, to get my car looking just a little bit better I'd take Bon Ami cleanser, make a paste and scrub that car until the paint was dull and the little rust spots were gone.  I took good care of it and sold it for $50 bucks more than I bought it for--what a deal.

Eventually, I moved up in the world to a cute little VW bug, and after that, I had everything from minivans, to SUV's and sedans, I've had luxury cars and not so luxurious cars. And now finally after all these years--low and behold this last weekend--a white convertible.  I am in love.  It is adorable. It's just like I imagined it would be when I was 16 years old.

Have you ever wondered why older people buy convertibles?  I think I've figured it out.  The secret.  Or not so secret.  It's called a mid-life crisis car. However, I am wondering why it's called a crisis.  It's more like a miracle.  I finally have the ability to not only look at--but to purchase a car that doesn't need to accommodate more than two people, unless I want it to.  And with my kids being all grown up--there doesn't have to be room for a car seat and I don't have to share it with teenagers.  Woohoo--let the fun times begin.

Yesterday we took ours into the city.  As we were driving around the beautiful streets of Chicago, the wind softly blowing in our hair, and with the sun shining down on us--we looked at each other and smiled.  We were young again.  We were free and young and in love.  We were happy.  We were grinning from ear to ear.  And in that moment life was sweet.

It's back to our the normal routine today, work, errands, life--but that's OK, we had yesterday and hopefully, a whole lot more of tomorrows in our cute little white convertible.