Things Change... Again

For a few months now, since the auto accident in January, we have had only one car. Because Marilyn goes to work early in the morning, I very often had to use the bus to get to town or to work. It really wasn't a huge inconvenience and very often I could get from point A to point B at certain hours of the day faster than if I were driving my own car. Certainly I spent a lot less on transportation as well, what with the high cost of gasoline now.

I actually liked riding the bus. I actually got some much needed exercise walking to the bus stop and on the other end of the ride, to wherever I was going. Someone else was doing the driving and that is no small thing when the traffic is inching along at 5 mph or at rush hour. The best part of traveling by bus was the very simple pleasure of being able to observe the other people on the bus or checking out the buildings and stores along the way, out of the window. You can't do that sort of thing if you are driving your own car. The "eyes on the road thing". I saw my world in a very different way over the last few months... a more leisurely way and certainly a less stressful way. And I learned that my life does not come to an end just because I no longer had a car just for myself to drive. Life goes on, no matter what.

We bought another auto. Two days ago, I was back in the driver's seat. It is back to the good and the bad that goes with driving a car. My life now has a very different feel to it. I can set my own schedule now and am no longer bound to the fixed schedule of the buses. I would like to say that everything is significantly better now, but I can't honestly say that. At most, I can only observe that life is just a little different than it was two days ago. I have made trade-offs and in the process, for all the gains that go with having a car of my own once again, there are going to be losses as well. Ah, well!