Fab and 42

No, I'm not talking about myself because I'm not 42. I'm talking about the "new" car that we just bought: a 1969 VW Bug. If you're one of my FB friends then you know that I actually said "#@%$ it", learned to drive a stick, and now bought a Bug. What in the world is wrong with me? Throughout this whole experience, the most traumatic part has been learning to drive a stick shift...in a Bug. Honestly, I felt like I've needed my inhaler every time I've gotten behind the wheel. All I can say is thank goodness I already know the rules of the road so I only had to concentrate on shifting. The second most traumatic part has been searching for a Bug that is in decent driveable condition with minimal to no rust. We weren't searching for perfection, but we didn't want a project either. It can be a tiring and disappointing process.

Sometimes, however, all of that frustration is really just preparation to help you recognize an opportunity when it comes your way. That's what happened to us. Last Saturday evening I was out doing a 5k run (more like walk) with some friends. My husband took the boys to church and in the process he lost his sunglasses. He lingered a little longer than usual in order to look for them. (Had I been there, I would have hurried him along.) Giving up, he piled the boys in the car when my oldest son said, "Daddy, look! There's a Bug and it has a For Sale sign on it!" He pulled up alongside the other Bug and noticed what good condition it was in. He wrote down the information and made arrangements to go see it and test drive it.

While it's not in mint condition, it's in pretty darn good condition for being 42 years old. And get this: it still has the original engine with only 28,000 original miles. Maybe I'm easily impressed, but our 11 year old van had 148,000 miles. The person we bought it from was the second owner. He said that the first owner was literally the little old lady next door who mainly drove the Bug around town. He gave us the original manual with the salesperson's business card from the VW dealership in San Francisco in 1969. Niiice. So there you have it. Our car dilemma is over, for now.