So begins our Weekly Ritual(TM) of Car Scheduling - deciding who gets our single, one and only, very used, very compact car each day of the week.

So the gears of my brain start churning - that means I get the car Wednesday and Friday, so I'll be able to make it to table tennis for a change...and I'll be able to run errands on Friday.  Great.  All set. 

"Oh, and one more thing honey," she continues, "Ariel has Achievement Night* Wednesday night, but if you're going to ping pong, I can see if I can get a ride for her." 

Drat.  Not so fast. 

As she picks up the cordless and wanders off into the bedroom, she says, "Let me call Laura and see if she can take Ariel."  After a short while, she returns and tells me, "Laura can bring her home, but you'll need to take Ariel there."

*sigh*  Not a big deal, but that essentially means that I have to drive home after work to pick up Ariel, and go slightly out of my way to drop her off at church on my way out to the table tennis club.  It adds an estimated 25.34214 miles to my already fairly lengthy drive.  Which is exactly 25.34214 miles more than I want to drive.  Do-able, just a pain.

"Ok, just so I get it straight, that means you'll be driving me into work Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, right?" I ask. 

"Well actually, if you could get a ride with Co-Worker Buddy on Tuesday," she continues on a roll now, "that would help me out a lot by not having to drive you into work that morning."  The plot thickens even more.

In case you're keeping score, dear Traveler, and lost track, that means she's driving me into work on Monday, I'm getting a ride on Tuesday...or is it Monday I'm getting a ride, and Tuesday I'm watching Braden, and Thursday I'm running errands, and...oh heck, even *I* can't keep track. 

Such is Life in our One-Car-Only Household.  Especially a household where we are homeschooling our kiddos so the Family Car plays a vital role in having to schlep them to and from various activities.  Not that I mind having only one car - I know having two cars just doubles all the maintenance and repair costs from having one car - which can be a whole other set of Pains in and of itself.  But some days I think...it sure would be nice to have another set of wheels...

I really shouldn't complain about our nice, little, 4-door compact sedan that does the job just fine schlepping us from Point A to Point B, with Points E, F, G, and H thrown in on occasion.  Hey, what happened to Points C & D, I'm sure you're wondering.  Well, we all know that sometimes things don't always go according to plan so certain places get left out.  Hehe.

I sure do love our wonderful, hard-working Family Car - she really does take good care of us.  Even if the driver side power window doesn't work...or the A/C hasn't worked in two years...or the rear window defroster only works long enough to clear a line 0.032432 cm wide...or the fact that water leaks in from an indiscoverable location when it rains...or the fact that the coolant has developed a slow leak...or...the list goes on and on.

Who else would be willing to ferry around two growing children who seem to have a knack of getting crumbs, ripped up little pieces of paper, dirt, sugary drinks that stain easily, etc, etc, etc all over the interior?  Without complaint I might add?  Who else would do this without any warning whatsoever, called into action at a moment's notice?  

I sure do love our wonderful, hard-working Family Car...

Even if she isn't the newest, flashiest car on the block (or in the neighborhood).  Even if she isn't perfect, and has things that need to be repaired.  She's been there for us even before we were married.  She's been there through the thick and thin, the rough spots and the bliss.  She was our limousine on our wedding night.  She was the one that brought Braden safely home from the hospital.  She has managed to make two transcontinental trips both out West and then back East again.  She has taken us on more than a handful of family vacations.  

I sure do love our wonderful, hard-working Family Car...

I must admit, there are Some Days (especially when it is over 100 degrees F in the shade with 95% humidity) when I wish I could just drive down to the Car Dealership of Choice, and purchase the newest, trendiest, Family Car with all the bells and whistles and horns and noisemakers and kazoos and most importantly - working A/C...then the thought of having to make a ten gadzillion dollar a month car payment slams me back into Reality.  But hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

Despite all the Scheduling Pains...despite all the hassle we have to go through to figure out who gets the car when, where, and why...despite the fact that she has imperfections and isn't as spry or powerful as she once was in her youth, I'll take her over any overpriced, unaffordable, snazzy, unaffordable New Car any day.  

I sure do love our wonderful, hard-working Family Car...

Unless of course I win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes...or someone is generous enough to donate a car to us for free...then I may have to choose a Newer Car over her...but even then, our hard-working Family Car will be with us until the bitter end.  

I sure do love our wonderful, hard-working Family Car...

Even if it means having to watch Jen on Tuesday, drive Ariel to Braden's doctor's appointment on Monday, and get a ride with Co-Worker buddy every other Thursday when there are two full-moons in the same month....
 

*Achievement Night is a biweekly church youth activity for girls not quite old enough to be in the Young Women youth group.