My perfect Fit

An event from May 2013:

I've never been a car person

I just don't care about them.

I don't pay attention to them and I'm not impressed by them.

I don't notice if you have a fancy one.

I don't notice if you have a crappy one.

I do want one that is reliable

(this comes from years of living in a family with many many car troubles)

But in the last couple of years I have started to loathe my minivan

Oh I can see the plusses to having one

It can carry a lot of cargo

It can haul a bunch of kids around

If we need to pick up a sheet of plywood at Home Depot, it's no problem

But my minivan days, I feel, are over.

right?

I mean, I'm down to one kid for Pete's sake!

Sure he has a big drum set that he occasionally wants to haul someplace

but should that fact rule my life?
I should think not.

And so my days of noticing cars began.
I started to notice little cars.
And this noticing of little cars also fed into another of my natural instincts
I love to save money.
And little cars get good gas mileage.

I've mentioned before that I am a nickle and dime kind of person
and the whole "saving money by having a lower gas mileage car"
fits really well into that mind-set

My husband, on the other hand,
will start analyzing the pros and cons
of one car over another
He will talk about how the cost of the new car versus the savings on gas doesn't make sense
blah blah blah

Anyway, I started looking at small cars on the road
online
in brochures
in magazines
I secretly went to a couple of dealerships and sat in some
I told myself I didn't need one
But, OH, I wanted one.

And all of this wanting
made me hate my van even more.

It is dirty
It smells like boy
teenage boy
It has a couple of dings in it.
None of them by me
Its big and ugly and grey
and big
and every time I fill it up with gas I am disgusted

And I start talking about small cars
All the time.
I annoy my family.

Carter and I start pointing them out when we drive.
That one looks nice.
This one is too goofy looking.

I finally decide that I like the Honda Fit.
It seems like the perfect combination of
Little Car and still some cargo space.
Its not smart-car-tiny.
But its still definitely small.

Aaaand....I become obsessed.
We start pointing out Fits whenever we see them on the road
(yes, suddenly they are everywhere!)

Frank is still not convinced this is a good idea.
For one thing, what if we need to buy something big at Home Depot?
But, I counter, we just moved into a condo! Why would be do that?
Anyway, we can just rent the little truck from Home Depot if we need to...
What about the furniture I'm always wanting on the side of the road or at garage sales?
I admit.  That gives me pause.
But I soldier on.
I want to be rid of the mini van days!

And, although the buying of it is another story entirely...
I end up with
my perfect
FIT