Midlife or Economy
First published in Prairie Times, November 2007
Ann Kaiser
Here’s the scenario. My husband drives a pickup to work every day. One day he decides that it would be a great idea to get an economy sized car. Our truck doesn’t get bad gas mileage. Sure it eats gas faster than some cars, but you must consider the economics of it and ask yourself, can you really save that much in gas to pay for a nice used economy sized car? Perhaps in five years, you might come close. Unfortunately by then you will probably need to replace it.
Thinking he would come to his senses on his own I thought, alright let him have a look at some and he would decide for himself that it wasn’t feasible. We had some errands to run on a Friday afternoon and being the generous gal that I am, I let him off the hook of shopping at the local fabric store and dropped him off at a used car lot. The place closes in twenty minutes so I figured no harm can come out of it. I also have assumed that there is little harm in letting the foxes build their den underneath our chicken coop.
Fifteen minutes later I return – alright make that thirty minutes later maximum. What scene do you think I find? Well there was a grown man grinning from ear to ear saying, “I found the perfect one.”
“What do you mean?” I said a little concerned. “I just dropped you off to window shop. Not really shop.”
He found a little red sports car, taken it for a spin, and negotiated the price all within thirty minutes. By the way, this car has a seating capacity of four. We have a family of six which couldn’t possibly squeeze into this miniature car. “This is strictly a commuter car,” was his answer. Ok that’s true but sun roof and the latest stereo? “It just happens to come with them,” said my still grinning husband.
Well to make a long story short; there is a little red sports car parked in the driveway. I have to admit, it is a fun car to ride. Since I like automatics better, I won’t be taking it for a spin anytime soon. Of course he is crushed over that problem. The kids definitely love it. They get to stick their hands out the sun roof and as our youngest child recently told me. “We get to go really fast!”
The only child that hasn’t had a ride and has begged for one is our oldest son. I’m thinking his father’s motive is to keep him as far away from it as possible lest he asks for the keys. I’m fine withholding the keys from my son, so I’m not encouraging the two of them to go for a spin either. Having one oversized kid driving a sports car is more than I was planning anyway.
Now it’s up to you to decide. Is this the economy car or is it a husband getting his dream car? Now you know why I titled this Midlife (for midlife crisis) or Economy. That answer I will leave up to you. If you figure out a definite answer let me know I’ll still be pondering the dilemma!