Baby

Finally the eczema is letting up and things are getting caught up around here. I spent a few days taking the chance to get caught up on the paper work. Of course the house went to hell in a hand basket. So yesterday I donned the gloves and attacked the house. Today I only have a few things to do and all will be as done as quickly as possible.

Hubby's new hours are really wonky. I got to take the Baby out for shopping. I miss driving that truck. We drove crap vehicles for years. The Dodge Caravan I drove had an engine that would overheat within a half hour of driving it, no heat in the winter and a wiper that did acrobats in the middle of a torrential down pour. My mother bought it at an auction cause she thought it was a good deal. For the guy who sold it maybe. We poured too much money into that thing. Hubby's car which was a really wonderful car, was a 1983 Buick. I have to admit I cried when we brought it to the wreckers.

How not to buy a vehicle. Clapping your hands and bouncing in the passenger seat at every little thing, like heat. Hubby came home one last September and said there was a vehicle that was really low for payments and good on gas then asked if I would like to take a look. So we hop into the crap van and take a look. Its a silver Toyota Echo. Its really cute. But, I get thinking, 5 dogs, camping equipment including tent, food and screenhouse and possibly more that two humans. I expressed my thought to Hubby who said "Lets see what else there is."

We went to the used car lot of a dealership we bought the Buick from and was looking at a large sedan style when I see this Burgundy GMC suburban. Lets skip to the past briefly for those who may someday read this, My first vehicle I bought all on my own, that I never had to share with anyone, was a two toned, 1984 GMC Sierra Classic. I loved that truck. It was my baby. It had the best feeling about it. That truck loved me. This was an affair that started my love for GMC. I missed that truck when I sold it to move where I live now so much I was heartbroken. There was one parked by an apartment building, same year, same colour, same everything. I walked or drove by it hoping that they would put a for sale sign on it.

So I'm looking at this suburban and I said to Hubby what about that, pointing to the vehicle. He walked over and took a look. He said "Yeah maybe." Ah, a sign hope. The more I look at this truck the more I wanted it. It gave me the same feeling that the Buick and my truck did. We drove away and I was having an anxiety attack at the thought of not getting it.

After supper I went to Hubby's dungeon and said "Let's talk truck." And he blew. He tore a strip of hide off me that left me seething inside. He ranted, it wasn't the right time, he just started a new job, we can't afford the payments, and a bunch of other stuff. I sat on the step of the dungeon and when he was done I stood up. My fury is now so great, I am shaking. I knew if I started I might of done bodily harm to this man. This was the sixth time he had pulled it. Like a fool I fell for it. In my angry quiet voice, which is the dangerous one, I said between my teeth, "Fine. I will never go look at another vehicle with you so long as we are married. This is the sixth bloody time that you have done this. I will drive those shit vehicles in to the ground and then walk before I look at another car or truck with you." I went up stairs and cleaned the kitchen.

I didn't speak to him the next day except to tell him I needed the van for groceries. He called me in the mid morning to ask if I was still speaking to him. I said no. Then he asked if I could do him a favour, not for him but a customer. So I brought him the funny looking hose from the shed and dropped if off. Here's how pissy I was. Hubby says can I be there at six on the dot. Already knowing I asked why really clipped and nasty like. He said we had an appointment to see the truck. Instead of being all forgiving and sweet, I folded my arms across my chest and said, "You said no." Hubby looked around and said "I'm tired of driving those shitboxes we own."

So I pick him up on the dot at six. He gets into the van and starts his list this vehicle must have or he will not consider it. Here's the start, "It must have a 308, it must be two wheel, it must have an automatic transmission, it must have the doors that open vertically and not horizontally, it must have a driver's seat without the lumbar support but must be comfortable." Now here is where it gets really stupid. " It must have cruise control, it must have an extra jack for cell phones other than the lighter, air conditioning and it must have a decent sound system." At that point I was concentrating on not smacking him while he drove.

We get to car lot and the salesman meets us at the suburban. He unlocks it and opens the hood apologizing because they just got it in and it hadn't been cleaned yet. I look at the engine while the guy is telling my Hubby its a 308. Bingo one down, twenty eight stupid other ones to go. This engine is clean. Not a speck of oil anywhere. The guys says, "Oh wow. Its tight." Next he explains its a two wheel automatic. Yahoo! Two for one. I walk around the back and sweetly call out. "Oh Honey it has the doors you wanted." that's number four out of the way. We hop into the cab and I see cruise control, air conditioning and very pretty sound system that is not only top of the line, but anti-theft. Hubby looks down and says "Oh look the extra jacks." At that point I had to laugh. I pointed to the cell phone holder and said, "You got a bonus."

We were handed the keys and told to take it for a test drive. I'm wanting this vehicle so bad I can taste it. Its not only met every condition Hubby set but was now exceeding it as we drove. We drove it through a few streets and asked Hubby if I could drive it. "You would drive this!" The tone was surprised. Option A) Beat Hubby with purse. Option B) Beat Hubby with purse. Dismissing those I just looked at him and said, "Excuse me, I drove a truck for years." We are out on the highway and I asked again if I can drive it. Hubby says yes as soon as he pulls over but first he wants to see how it is in reverse. I asked again when we were going forward. "Yeah as soon as I pull over." He pulled over in the car lot.

Now here is where we acted like two kids in a candy store. Hubby discovered tons of storage, I found extra cup holders. It sunk in this vehicle had leather seats and a surround sound that made you feel like you were in a concert hall. The extra bonus was the manual still in the glove box. The icing on the cake was they would take the piece of crap of a van as a trade in for $500 less than I paid for it. How cool is that. Despite a few other odds against us we managed to get Baby. Its my baby.

I'm the one who had the temper tantrum to get it and Hubby knows when we get a second vehicle, he is driving to work and Baby stays with me.

I talk to the truck every time I get into it. It knows I love it. Hubby thinks I'm a little nuts when I talk to the truck but I'm not worried. I heard him greet the truck one morning. The best thing about the truck isn't the fact that its everything I love or everything that Hubby must have, it the fact that we are blessed to be in the situation that enabled us to own it. In watching life, I have realized that we make choices. The choice to stay in our situation or the choice to somehow combat it or make it better. Somewhere along the line Hubby and I have been making the correct choices in our lives. Please don't ask me which ones cause we haven't a clue. I'm beginning to think we just kind of stumbled upon the right away a few times. But when we look around now we feel blessed. We no longer see what could be but rather what is. And what we got isn't a whole lot by comparison. We would never make Home and Garden. (Did I mention the gothic garden with the dead fountain.) The house and yard isn't middle class. More like somewhere in between lower and middle.

But I look at our friends and our lives. We a far richer than most. I was once told that a single true friend is worth more than any huge bank account. I have several, one I have never met but only through emails. I think she's in Rhode Island or somewhere like that. (I'm not good with geography of my own country let alone the USA), another who lives down the street and others who I only see once in a blue moon. They have all enriched our lives. It can't possibly get any better than this.

Can it?