Today’s
stories are quick glimpse into some history. The first is about my cars. As I
write this, however, I neglected to mention any fender benders or anything of
that nature. Hmm…maybe that will have to be a part 2.
The
second story is about purchases. Big ones and little ones and the ones that you
have to scrimp and save for. Here we go…
Story 8: Transportation
My
first car was a 1989 Jeep Wrangler. I loved
that Jeep and it started my continued desire to own something from the Jeep
family of vehicles. I got the Jeep when I turned
16 when my Dad got a newer one. It
was a manual 4x4, without air conditioning, but
neither was really needed in San Jose where I grew up. It
was bright red with a giant sun painted on the hood and the sides, called the Islander
edition. It was a soft top with plastic windows that zipped up and
down and didn't have any locks on the doors. Awesome.
I
only really got to drive that car for a year and a half. I didn't turn
16 until May of my junior year in high school (I skipped a grade and
therefore was always the youngest one in the class). I drove
that Jeep all summer · love! The top down, the
tunes on and my girlfriends and I just
explored all over the South Bay.
When
it was time to go away to school in Arizona, my parents decide that an unlocking
Jeep without A/C was not the best vehicle for Arizona State. While
I didn't love the Saturn that they bought me, I knew
they were right. That little Saturn was loaded and was an awesome
crushing vehicle for the long drives between Arizona and San Jose.
Shortly
before I moved home to Auburn, I bought
my very first car - of course it was a Jeep Wrangler. Maroon with a tan top, I
loved that one too. It was in that Jeep that
I met Steve and my strange new relationship with cars would begin. I now pay
attention to things I never ever would have. I drove
a Mustang GT for awhile (and ended up plowing
it into a fence.) We owned a Scion xB (yup the little toaster cars) and a Chevy
HHR. All had specific purposes, but none were "mine."
Steve, as you can tell, doesn't hang on to cars very long.
Right
now I'm driving a 2004 Chevy Tahoe. I do
love this Tahoe. It's the perfect size for our little family of four + two dogs. Sure, I'd like something shinier and newer, but this baby
is paid off and I have plans on driving it until the wheels
falloff it.
While
I'd love to go back to a little Jeep Wrangler (even the four door version) I
know that with the kids, transporting strollers, high
chairs, two dogs and the occasional extra passenger, a big, huge, SUV
makes the most sense for us at this time in our lives.
Story
9: Purchase
As I pulled the car into the garage the
other day I stopped and thought for a moment how much stuff we have. I’m not
just talking about the daily clutter and the “stuff” that you need to get rid
of. We have lots of that stuff. The stuff that I was thinking about was
everything we have purchased to make a life for ourselves. We still have quite
a few hand-me-downs, but we’re slowly building our lives as a family and with
that building comes a lot of purchases,
At this time in our lives, I would say that
we’re the most proud of our house. After spending some time in a teeny tiny
little starter home, Steve and I worked hard to be able to purchase the home we
currently live in. When we found out we were pregnant with Andrew we knew that
the two bedroom home we brought Allyson home to and bought right before we were
married was not going to work for our growing family. It was a stressful time
because I was pregnant. We rented out the little house and moved in with my
parents and then started searching for a new place. When we moved out we
weren’t even sure we could afford another house, but we knew that whether we
bought or rented something else, we needed something bigger.
After five months with my parents, and me
freaking out that were going to bring our new baby home to my parent’s house,
the house deal closed and we moved in one month before Andrew was born. It was
a crazy time, but one I’m so very proud of. It was a big (huge) purchase, but
one that was the step in the right direction. It’s not our forever home, I
mean, come on, we had to qualify for it with both mortgages and no rental
income, but it’s ours and we love it and it suits us perfectly.
As I was sitting there, I also started to
think about all the stuff we have bought for this gorgeous new home (and also
all the stuff we brought with us.) We’re so thankful to have good jobs that
help support this lifestyle to which we have become accustomed. We make it
work. We’re not in crazy amounts of debt and intend not to head down that
direction (sure we could purchase a little less and save a little more) but
we’re building a future and sometimes that takes money.
So for now, the only big purchases on our
horizon are an October trip to Disneyland, a patio cover for the back yard and
a new home computer. None are life necessities and are more wants than needs,
but we’ll make them happen in the not too distant future. And after writing
this, I’m going to go make a few extra payments to the savings account and
credit card bill. Nothing like a little self-reflection to put your priorities
in order.
~Becky
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