For almost the last 4 years, we have been a one car family. My husband always took the bus to work and so when our lease was up on our second car we decided to be nice to the enviroment and just go with one car.
At first we lived close enough to the park and ride that he would just walk to it (unless it was super rainy). This got my husband exercise each day, which was a nice side benefit.
But then we bought a home. It was near a park and ride…sorta. But to get to it he would have to walk down a super busy road. And so, I got up every morning to take him and went every evening to pick him up. Amazingly enough, there were only a few times in those years that we really needed two cars. We just made it work.
But last Monday my husband started a new job. He left the juggernaut that is Microsoft to go to a smaller company. No, he wasn’t laid off (thank goodness), it was all of his own free will. It became quite apparent though that taking the bus was no longer going to be working out.
So off to buy a new car we went. We already owned a Ford Focus and it has been a great little car for us. And so we decided to get another one. This one is quite different than our first car. That one doesn’t even have power locks or windows. Our new car has Sync, which takes some getting used to but is kind of nice. It plays my Ipod. We have Sirius (which I big puffy heart). It has bluetooth and just knows when someone is calling, which is needed since we aren’t suppose to use our phones in the car in the state of Washington. No one seems to follow that law, but at least I can now. 
Yes, I get the drive the new car while he commutes with the older car. 
Though I must say that between learning all the new stuff that the car does and all the new stuff that my phone does my brain is ready to explode. I must say I am doing better with the car than the phone. The phone does far too many things.
In unrelated to car news, my desire to bake and photograph is out the window right now. I had a paying gig last week and am now tired of taking photos. Hopefully this will pass quickly so that I can you know, run my blog.
6 comments
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November 5, 2009 at 9:46 am
Linda
Congrats. We were a one car family for over 2 years til my hubby bought his Celica. It makes life a little easier when he’s headed south and I’m headed north.
November 5, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Erika
Congrats on the new car! I’m in the market myself – been driving the same one for 15 years! I think I’ve gotten my money’s worth!
November 7, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
For a couple of years my husband and I did the same as you — I would drive him 30 minutes to the train in the morning and pick him up at night. So for me, it was an hour round trip, twice a day, when I didn’t get anything done. I began to resent the time spent away from my own work long before we got our second car. Now I can’t imagine living out here in the country without a car of my own. Enjoy yours!
November 9, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Lynn
Ooh, pretty and shiny! Congratulations on the new car and hub’s new job. I hope they both make you guys happy.
November 10, 2009 at 12:23 pm
janelle
Love this post; we were a one car family for ten years, nine of which we had 2 children. So many stories of buses, drop offs, pick-ups. There really was something sweet about making it work, coordinating to see each other sooner… applying to manage the apts right by the kids preschool… so many, many stories.
You remember I am from Seattle? Well right now, we are living abroad for a year! Really! Took the boys out of school and inserted them in an italian one instead. For fun: http://www.familyfrolics.com
November 28, 2009 at 9:09 pm
ingrid
Yay! So glad to hear that you bought American and a Ford to boot! A Ford dealership supports my baking (baseball & book) habit. My honey works for a Ford dealership here in FL.
~ingrid