Multiple Cars...Multiple Uses

I took a picture of all three of our cars this morning. I did it because yesterday I drove each car to run errands. I could have only driven one car, but where's the fun in that?

It's strange to have three vehicles. There's the family van which is needed since there are six of us. There's my car--the Pontiac Vibe, small, economical, and along with the van, built by Toyota so they're reliable. Our third car is a Ford, a Taurus about one year older than my Vibe and five years older than the van. The Ford is a car we didn't absolutely need, but circumstances were favorable for us to buy it. The cars aren't new, but they're paid for. Not having a car payment is a wonderful thing.

For the past two days I was needed to act as chauffeur, mostly for our daughter. We went to a job interview, went to the theatre multiple times, dropped her off at dance rehearsal, and a voice lesson. I also needed to pick up groceries. Each car has its own pros and cons. I also needed to fill a couple of them up with gas.

When I lived in Europe decades ago a car meant something different than it does in America. I'm not sure how it is now over there, but back in the 1980s having a car was a big deal. They cost more to buy, to operate, and to fill up with gas. Even before I went there I used to drive cars that cost around $500. Okay--they were VW Bugs and you could get one for that price. I bought my first car for $500 when I was sixteen. Sure, it wasn't new, but it was a car.

In the coming months and years our family will change. If one of the kids moves away they'll mostly likely take of of the cars with them. And because they're cars and break down from time to time, we know they won't last forever so when the time comes, we'll need to make a choice--replace or get by.  I guess we'll make that decision when that happens.