Welcome to a new edition of Thursday Thoughts! Or is it really Thursday Randomness? For most of my adult life I‘ve always driven new cars and had a good sized car payment to go with that luxury. About a year and a half ago, a friend mentioned that he was selling a used car and joked with me that I could get rid of mine and buy his. We had a good laugh over the thought and moved on to other topics.
The thought stuck with me and after pondering, I bought the car from him – a fire engine red, ancient (by most standards) Xterra. Tons of miles on it, but great overall condition. For a few months, I alternated between my other car and my new used car. I got it checked out by the mechanic and made sure everything was running smoothly.
I bit the bullet and got rid of the fancy car and made the commitment to the Xterra. At first the adjustment was a bit rough. I have to reach out and change the radio station by hand?! The headlights don’t come on automatically?! I quickly adjusted and have come to realize that my red beast represents freedom to me. Not just freedom from a car payment. That’s too obvious. It’s freedom to enjoy and experience life!
I googled and learned how to fix the air conditioner in it myself. A $400 job for the dealer for less than $30 and a bit of lost skin off my hand. I couldn’t have done that with a new computer operated car so I learned something new and saved some moolah. I can haul just about anything in it or behind it. Trips to the Home Depot are a breeze no matter what I buy. I can load it up, go on daytrips around the area and everything fits in the back.
I’ve used the car payment money on endless adventures like zip lining, scuba lessons, sky diving, contest training, and so on. I never have to worry about parking to avoid door dings. Ding away! It has over 140k miles on it, never gets washed, but I love it. I look at the car now and smile at the memories that it’s given me. Without the red beast, I may not have done most of the things I’ve accomplished lately.
Maybe it was the push that I needed to discover what matters most in life. I plan to drive it until it can go no more. Maybe one day The Kid might end up driving it and finding her own freedom. It will also teach her to drive a stick which every self-reliant woman should know how to do to impress others. 😉
Do you have something like this that represents freedom to you? What is holding you back from reaching your goals?
I love that beast too. “Everything you need and nothin’ you don’t.” I am glad my baby has served you well. It still gives me smile upon my face when I see it in the gym parking lot. I walk by and say ‘Hi, old friend.’ I am glad it found a good home. =)
Thanks! It’s perfect for everything I need even if I do have to reach out every now and then to change the station, or get frightened by an alarm that I didn’t know it had. Keeps me on my toes. 😉