Gratefulness. What are you grateful for?

Gratefulness and a junk car.

Gratefulness. It seems so obvious, doesn’t it? Most of us find it easy to be grateful for family, health, jobs, etc. But what about cars? I found this old post from a former blog, and I wanted to post it again and add some thoughts.

A sad day but a thankful one as well.

Today is a sad day for me. I’m frugal. (Others would call me cheap.) I’ve mentioned my eighteen-year-old car before, but today’s news is very sad. Today it died. We knew it was sick, but we had no idea it was dying. It wasn’t the engine or anything like that. As our mechanic said, “It’s a darn shame. It runs beautifully.” The frame basically rusted in half. That I didn’t expect. I was told to drive it home and park it as it’s unsafe to drive. (My husband followed me in his truck, and we drove an alternative route home where there is little traffic.) The junk car dealer will be coming to pick it up later today.

Benefits of driving a junk car.

My daughter didn’t believe me when I said I’m sad. But I am. This car and I have been a team for a long time now. I loved and was thankful for my ’95 Taurus and took pride in driving it this long. I was the car in the parking lot you didn’t want to park next to. I never worried about a ding or a dent. Believe it or not, there’s a lot to be learned from driving an old car.

  • It keeps you humble.
  • It keeps you level-headed.
  • It gives you more discretionary income.
  • It reminds you that you don’t need new things to be happy
  • it helps prioritize your life.
  • It needs you to keep it going, to feed it, water it, baby it.

Searching for a new car.

So next week, the search begins. We knew this time was coming eventually. I know the car I want, how much I want to pay, and the number of miles I would be comfortable with. I guess you can tell by those remarks that it won’t be a new car. Besides, a new car is not a good investment unless you’re a millionaire a few times over.

Tough negotiators

We won’t spend a dime more than our budgeted amount because it’s not our money; it’s God’s. Besides, a car is only a car. It’s a way to get from point “a” to point “b.” That’s all it is, and as long as it’s safe and halfway decent looking, it’s o.k. with us. I do feel sorry for the poor salesman. We can’t be intimidated or talked into anything. We are the brick wall that he will run into early on in the negotiating process!

I hate looking for a car. I hate dealing with the salesman. I hate having to worry about the first scratch. But one aspect of all this I am excited about is being able to push a button to lock and unlock the car. That will feel like such a luxury to me. Then there is that “new” car, or should I say “kind of new” car smell. That will be nice, too.

Gratefulness and a new car

That was six years ago. We ended up buying a used Toyota Rav. I felt unfaithful because I fell in love with the new car immediately, especially the fact that I could open and shut the doors with my key fob. Would you believe after six years, I still do it with a flourish so everyone can see I can? Obviously, 90% of the cars in a parking lot do that these days so I don’t know who I’m trying to impress.

I will probably drive this car until it rusts out as well. But I will be grateful to the very end.

I don’t know why but every time I get behind the wheel of my Rav, I feel so grateful. I think that’s OK. I think we should be grateful for every material object we own, no matter how rusty and worn.

When I get up in the morning and every muscle aches, I am grateful for my rusty, worn body, as well. It’s the only one I”ve got, and I’m thankful I can get up and can walk, etc. There are many of can’t.

Gratefulness has to be expressed. It is a matter of choice. Don’t wait for the feeling.

What is your gratefulness level today? Do you need to bring it up a notch?

God bless, and I hope you have a good day.