Our official plan was to wait at least until summer before replacing Jason's car. One car really works fine for us, at least when the kids are in school. (Summer camps are a different story, since everybody scatters to different half-day/full-day programs every week.) Jason can usually work from home any day I need the car for meetings or appointments, plus there are plenty of Lyft/Uber drivers around here, and we're honestly walking distance to a lot of things that we don't walk to simply because there's always at least one car in the driveway. Plus, how often do I ever have to go anywhere in person, besides once in a blue moon? Honestly, I'm not that important. 

The other day I realized we were out of bread, and instead of asking Jason to pick up bread on his way home, I just...walked to the damn store and bought the damn bread. In the wilds of suburbia! Like a crazy person! 

And I learned the secret to not going insane at Target with the impulse shopping: Remember that everything you buy, you have to carry home. Suddenly that decorative ceramic sheep and three-pound bag of clementines aren't quite so tempting. 

(Not to say that I literally ONLY bought a loaf of bread that day at Target. We also needed razor blades and Sunbutter, and it's not like two pairs of super-cute flip flops really weigh all that much, right?)

One day Jason got stuck in a meeting at work and Noah needed to be picked up from his afters school jazz program. Jason texted that he thought he could duck out early after all and I told him never mind, I was already halfway to the middle school* to walk him home. Ike and Ezra came with me and found it to be a fine adventure, and picked me an impressive bouquet of dandelions. 

*Noah could technically walk or ride his bike to school all the time, but he has to carry his saxophone to and from school every single day, which is super heavy and awkward. Between that and his 50-pound backpack**, he opts for the bus instead. 

**His backpack doesn't need to be 50 pounds, but he insists on carting the full contents of his locker home every day. Like many Spectrum kids he struggles with organization and planning, and has decided that just bringing every textbook and binder home is easier than having to make snap decisions in the few minutes he gets before the buses start leaving. 

In other words, I was ON BOARD with the one-car plan. I was going OUTSIDE. And WALKING. And CATCHING SO MANY POKEMON.

Someone needs a white t-shirt for an art project? I can carry that! Call from the elementary school health room because someone's running a fever? I'll be right there! Eventually! A mile walk in the fresh air will be good for 'em anyway! Uphill! Both ways! And etc. 

You see where this is going, right?

Jason bought a new car on Friday. Once he made up his mind and found a good deal that was...pretty much that. It's a Ford Focus RS, which is quite speedy and fun. At least to ride in, as far as I can tell, since it's a stick shift and I haven't driven a stick in about a decade. Jason keeps insisting it'll come right back to me, like riding a bike, at which point I remind him that I nearly crashed into the woods the first time I took my new bike out last summer. Let's not crash the shiny new car into the woods, okay? 

(I'll drive it, I'll drive it. I'm not that hopeless. Just gimme a minute.)

Anyway, we're out of bread again. And running low on cereal. The trusty minivan is in the driveway but meh. I think I'll go for a walk instead.