Mondays tend to be challenging for everyone. It's often the first day back to work after the weekend and it takes some time to get in the groove. This Monday went a little better than usual though.
Yesterday we achieved the impossible. We actually had the house resembling clean before 10:00 PM, which is quite a feat for us. That meant that we were not trying to clean the house in the wee hours of the morning. We actually went to bed at a decent hour. That hasn't happened in months.
Because of our productive Sunday I woke up with energy this morning. I also had a car, which was a change from last week.
Last week I had to rely on my feet and public transportation. This week I got to ride in style, or at least in my new "Jetta Sportswagen". I have to write "Sportswagen" because I am still a bit in denial that I own a station wagon. Is it possible that I have retired my sexy card and now I am merely a mom?
"Merely a mom" seems like a rejection of everything I've written about motherhood in the past. However, I have a confession. As much as I believe that motherhood is the greatest thing that's happened to me, I have like being sexy, at least in my own mind. I've been blessed to have lost my pregnancy weight and bounced back to my pre-pregnancy body and I have been rocking my skinny jeans and my Lexus SUV with style.
But I am still a mom...
When my Lexus died I had some grown-up decisions to make. Did I value sexy over savings?! That's a tough one.
If you haven't heard, kids give you priceless love, but all of the crap they require (like food, diapers, and toys) costs money. For that reason, I had to think very carefully about my car purchase. I needed to find a car that didn't otherwise cramp my style or restrict my ability to do all of the other things that I like to do.
The other thing that complicated my car purchase was ambivalence. Getting a new car was not in my plans. It was thrust upon me. Buying my Lexus RX300 fulfilled a fantasy. I simply had to have it. However, it died about two years premature. I didn't want another car. I wanted my Lexus to work. Buying a car simply out of necessity felt much different.
I also needed a big car. It takes a village to raise children because you need extra hands, or an SUV, minivan, or station wagon, to carry all of their crap. So I started looking for another SUV, but I just couldn't write that check. The ones I liked were really expensive. And even thought I liked them, I didn't love any of them. I had no fantasy.
Finding myself in the position of needing a car that I didn't want I made a practical choice. I bought the least expensive, nice car that I could find that could accommodate all of our stuff. That's how I got my 2011 "Jetta Sportswagen".
I'm not saying that my luxury car days are over. I'm just saying that I'll be rocking my Volkswagen Jetta for the foreseeable future.
The funny thing is I found that I LOVED getting a car that I liked at a price that I could afford. That feeling was priceless. Besides, as my brother would say, the car doesn't make you sexy, you've got to make the car sexy!
Maybe I can be a sexy mom AND a saving mom?! I welcome any tips you might have to make that happen...
Comments
Thanks for the Post...It was terrific! I have been struggling with the same issue as of late. With an 18 month old and preggers with baby #2 AND launching a business I am missing feeling sexy or even just slightly cool. :)
Hope to see you at Bloggy Con!!
Megan