Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Transportation. 

I have lived in a city for as long as I can remember. Transportation was what you wanted it to be. Anything on hand would work. Short distances could be covered on foot or bike. Longer distances took a motorized vehicle, but it didn’t matter if it was a car or truck, train or a bus, Uber or Lyft.  

It didn’t matter, as long as you could get there. 

After Ron died, I traded a more recent version of the SUV I’d driven for more years than I could count for a car. A small car. 

Would I like it after having driven an SUV for so many years?

I did. 

It drove like a charm. Easy to park. Used a fraction of the gas that I thought it would. It was great for flitting around from here to there. Trunk was big enough for groceries for one and the occasional get-together with friends. 

And I could get in and out of it. Definitely a plus. Don’t laugh! A car has a very different get-into structure than those SUVs do. It was a very real concern. 

Now, the city is no longer my dwelling place. The cute little car that sits low to the ground and has flat tires is not an especially good option for ranch life. 

Ranch life is long dusty roads. Knee-deep snow. Twenty minutes until we hit pavement. No more flitting from Target to Aldis. Now we make a trek to stock up. Now the drive to the store is as long as my hopping from the mall to Marshalls and back home again. 

It’s back to an SUV. 

Part of me will miss that little car. Its purchase was the first major decision I made without consultation after Ron died. 

A landmark of healing. An understanding that I would be ok. A blessing.

Blessings.

This new vehicle represents a completely different set of blessings. 

When I look at this car, I will see the vehicle that it is. Think of its great functionality for its location. Wonder about its capacity for a Costco run. 

But I’ll also think about the blessings surrounding it. Making decisions and plans with Al. Together. In partnership. Getting to know each other’s likes and dislikes at a deeper level. Understanding of thought processes. Time sitting side by side discussing options. Our future. Our life together.  

The sheer joy of these things. These new blessings. All wrapped up in a car — with or without a a big yellow bow.

So many blessings.