I am without a car for a couple weeks. That ongoing issue with the transmission I rambled about a few weeks back? This is the actual last, best effort to fix it. Long story short, the second new transmission is out and shipped off to a specialist to repair it. Crossing fingers they can, in fact fix it! Hopefully, the transmission will be reinstalled in perfect working order next week. What I’m reflecting on today is what it means to be without a car! It’s a multi-faceted reflection.
It’s amazing to me how I can take things for granted, like having a car that runs whenever I need it to (99.9% of the time, anyway) at my disposal. I have to put a lot less thought into my days, and I don’t have to spend valuable time waiting on others or public transportation. All of last week, we were back to a one-car household. How wonderful it is that we can afford to be a two-car family. Let’s face it; cars are expensive, between the purchase price, the maintenance, the fuel, the insurance, and all the rest. I take the fact that we can be a two-car family for granted, too. But it is a blessing, to be sure.
I’m fortunate that I was able to bum rides from folks a few times, like when coming home from St. Ignatius Saturday, or to a meeting someone else would be attending. It’s a lot better than hitchhiking! I’m also glad that I could ride my bike to the office, which I did
several times last week, including on Sunday. Another unexpected blessing was how much I enjoyed riding to the office. I actually ride a fair amount, but don’t regularly ride when I am “dressed up” and need to look presentable. Last week, it was just cool enough and didn’t rain at just the right moments that I could do it. And I loved it. I went about 25% as quickly as I normally do, and that was about right. It forced me to leave plenty of time so that I didn’t HAVE to rush. Had I rushed, I would have been soaked with sweat. Plus, on the way home, it was a built-in decompression that I don’t typically get with such a short commute. I don’t want to go back to the days of a long commute, but it’s been a while since I had a drive of any length during which I could process the day before getting home. In my last parish, it was even shorter: a 30-second walk, door to door.
This week is easier, which is part of the reason for scheduling it when we did. Donna is in Pennsylvania preparing for her parents’ upcoming 50th wedding anniversary (which I will be attending this weekend) so I have her car. This week, the hard part is fitting carpool into the schedule, but that’s not been too hard. Again, however, I’m fortunate that I have folks I can ask for help, as I did to get the girls home from Choristers rehearsal while I was at another event. Another blessing.
I have been trying to get better about noticing the blessings in my life. It’s a really helpful practice that ebbs and flows in my life. At first, the thought of not having a car was a big annoyance, as I considered all the ways it would make things tougher. Inconvenience is a pain! At the end of the day, however, I’m able to find blessing in it, too. Not every cloud has a silver lining, but sometimes we can find blessings in unexpected places. I hope the transmission comes back in tip-top shape, but even if it doesn’t, I still have a lot to be thankful for.
Tom+
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thank thee for all thou hast given and for all thou has forgiven; for thy hidden blessings, and for those which in our negligence we have passed over: for every gift of nature or of grace: for our power of loving: for all which thou hast yet in store for us: for everything, whether joy or sorrow, whereby thou are drawing us to thyself through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
*Car part photo used with permission. Photographer: Aaron “tango” Tang