That word has always sounded funny to me. Vehicle. I kinda like it. In high school, my bff Jenno's parents would "wash the vehicles" on Saturdays or Sunday afternoons. I spent so much time over there, I adopted some of their lingo. The remote was a "tuner." Money was "scratch." When we stayed in bed until mid-morning (or let's be honest, afternoon) her mom said we were "wallerin' in the bed." I still don't really know what that last one means.
That has nothing really to do with why I'm writing tonight. This week was HUGE for me financially. I paid my last bill for Cameron's birth. Baby can't be re-po'd! Hooray and hallelujah! When she and I left Oregon, a couple of bills were behind and were first priority and the others were able to work with me for monthly payments. And now they are all PAID IN FULL. I'm proud of that as it doesn't make sense to have been able to get there by this point by myself (but thankfully it hasn't been by myself). The other big part of this week was sending the last check to my lawyer for her services. I am so thankful that she was able to be my voice. I don't know that I could have gone to court emotionally, and I did not have to. She fought for us with a good attitude and pushed for what needed to be done. Worth every penny. But I don't owe her any more pennies and that also feels good.
And now….drumroll or something please! MY CAR IS OFFICIALLY MINE! I have not had great luck with cars. Here's the rundown:
1st car-1996 Honda Accord named Charlotte, purchased in 2002 after I graduated from college, totaled in 2003 after being stolen by 4 high school boys at 5 am and run into a telephone pole at 90 mph in Atlanta.
2nd car-1999 Nissan Altima named Lucy, purchased in 2003 after Charlotte's demise, totaled in 2004 after only a couple weeks in LA when I rear-ended a car in front of me that stopped short. Airbags went and it was worth less than it would take to fix it. Sigh. P.s. Airbags smell horrible and can leave chemical burnsz
3rd car-2003 Ford Focus named Iris (you know, because it was a focus) purchased in 2004 after Lucy's demise. Totaled in 2008 when an uninsured drunk driver hit my parked car at 4 am pushing it into the car parallel parked in front of it and the one in front of that one too! I went out in the morning to leave to meet my sister for brunch to find my car in pieces.
4th car-MINE! 2007 Nissan Altima named Oscar purchased in 2008 after Iris passed on who has treated me well and only been in one accident. I was sideswiped by a chica changing lanes last second (she didn't seem to mind there was already a car where she needed to be…). Fairly simple repairs and he has been lovely ever since.
So, twice my cars have been totaled when I was nowhere near them. It has been a strange journey but it feels really good to have made it this far! Blood, sweat, and tears…mostly those last two. Yay for progress.