Cars are the worst. And RIP George.

George, as a puppy.
This has not been a very good week. To quote my four-year-old: First the Volvo died. Then George died. Then the Honda died.

 To be fair, the Volvo is my dad's car. The George is my parents' dog. The Honda is my sister-in-law's car. And two of the three can be revived. But we have had the Volvo since my mom's first chemo treatment in December. George has been part of the family for 14 years, and the Honda lives at our house now that my sister-in-law lives here.

Also, David had to go to the ER on Sunday for a ruptured eardrum (that ruptured a couple of hours after my gig at the Monkey Wrench, which makes me think maybe we were too loud ... oops). The dog cost about as much to euthanize as the cars do to fix, but none of those three compare to the cost of an ER visit in America. It's been easily a $3000+ week in our family, and it's only Friday.

But accentuate the positive, right? The people we love are still alive, and we get to see each other. I made it back to yoga twice, despite having thrown my back and SI joint out earlier in the week. It was a glorious 75*F yesterday. I had an alfresco prosecco with two kids in tow (we took the bus), and I even remembered to reapply sunscreen to everyone. Hashtag winning.

George with 3 balls.
The car troubles this week have reminded us that we sold our cars six years ago. That means we haven't had to deal with auto nonsense, tow trucks, absurd pricetags, oil changes, etc, in six years. Having driven my parents' car since December has made me realize how much I can't stand having a car -- not just because they always break and cost too much, but because it means a change in my lifestyle.

Much like the rise of cell phones mean you don't have to make concrete plans with your friends ("Just text me when you're close, and I'll find you" instead of "3:15 at the corner of 10th & Broadway"), owning a car means you don't have to plan your errands. I like not having to make precise plans with my friends, but being able to just pop over to the grocery at a minute's notice means, get this, that I don't actually ever get to the grocery. Then I either eat cupboard crap or I order takeout.

I prefer life when I live deliberately. Yesterday, we took the bus to Ramsi's from Graham's haircut place, walked to the library, then took the bus home. It was a full day. My kids got to see other people and make conversation. We got some things done and had a good time.

Maybe we'll just leave the Honda in the shop.

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