Why is it that children don't want a toy until they figure out that someone else is playing with it? Today I took Sammy and Sophia to the splash pad with some of our friends from church. I brought along a few of those small sand pails you can pick up at the dollar store, and some shovels. Even though it's a splash pad, kids still like to dump water, right?
We had been there for almost an hour already, and Sammy wanted nothing to do with his sand pails . . . until he looked up and noticed a little girl having a grand old time with them. It turned into an all out grabbing war - Sammy pulled the bucket towards him, the little girl pulled the bucket back to her . . . Luckily, although we were grabbing toys, nobody was smacking anyone yet! Sammy is yelling the whole time, "That's MY bucket! MY bucket!"
I think that at times, even as adults, we can still turn into our three year old selves. Here we are, going along in our daily lives just fine until we look up one day and notice that the neighbors got a new car, or a coworker is going on an all-inclusive vacation to Maui. Before, the car you had in the driveway ran just fine, a/c was cool, windshield wipers worked, but once Neighbor Nancy pulls in with her brand new SUV you can't wait to trade in the old model for something to show up that Nancy girl and let her and everyone else know that you, too are the proud owner of a $600 car payment.
Three years ago when Sammy was born, our budget was not in a place where I was able to stay at home with him. I felt very angry about this, even though there was nothing we could do to change the status for the time being. As a result, I started looking for something to fill that emotional wound . . . and I found a Jeep Commander. We bought it used at a Hummer dealership, and actually got a really great deal, even though we really didn't need a new car. I find it interesting now that we thought we couldn't afford for me to stay at home, but we did think we could afford an *almost* new car.
I loved that Jeep . . . and I still do. Full time four-wheel drive, with a Hemi - it's a thrill to step on the gas and roar onto the freeway. It has three sunroofs, a pop down DVD player for the kids, the foldaway third row seat . . . but after all this, it's not really worth it. And I'm honestly not sure it ever was.
Now that I'm at home, we're looking for ways to cut the budget. We've tossed and turned, stayed up nights, tried to figure out how to keep our old friend, but like overnight visitors and dirty socks, after a day or two they really start to stink up the place. We talked to my dad, and he's had the best insight I've heard so far - "That's a pretty expensive car payment for someone who doesn't even have a job . . . "
So, like a jealous lover who's been left behind the morning after, my emotional band-aid sits in the driveway, waiting for a new thrill-seeker. Mike has started driving it back and forth to work, hoping that someone else will see her and take her for the joyride we've had the last three years. We've listed her on Craig's List, and also on AutoTrader. But so far, no one's taken the bait.
What did we learn from this? Don't use things to fill an emotional wound. That's what prayer and family are for. Enjoy the ride, but don't drive the gas-guzzler home. And like my good friend Dave Ramsey says, "Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else."
Here's to living like no one else . . . Anyone want to buy a Jeep??
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