So before I even knew my dad was sick, and that we’d be in NC for an extended period, I’d already been planning a little east coast family road trip for Charlie and me this summer. A few months back, I let go of my 2011 9-3 Saab (a whole other magical story on its own). Although lovely and modern, I’d had it for almost 2 years (originally expecting to drive it without problems for approx. 6 months). They don’t make Saab’s anymore and therefore parts are very hard to come by and extremely expensive to repair.
I was quite happy to just have my lovely and simple ‘Viola Lee Blue’ - a 1985 240 Volvo station wagon - which is actually one of my dream cars - Well, as much as I love my old car (that is in extremely good shape for her age), it started getting harder and harder for me to drive her. With carpal tunnel in my right wrist, and my now arthritic left ankle from a dislocation in a 1994 car accident, compiled with wear and tear on my body as I age, driving a standard has been getting more difficult and painful...
With the upcoming road trip and this issue, I started looking at newer cars. I even got approved for a loan for a newer model high-end SUV. It was big and shiny. Plenty of space. I just didn’t like the terms. So, I reached out to a friend who recently started a small used-car business. I was considering a Subaru. The car was nice and had all the specs I requested, but I just wasn’t feeling it. In the days between the test drive and waiting to take it to the mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection, I kept trying to convince myself why this was a smart move, and a solid logical solution. I went to bed one evening and demanded to myself “Jenny you need to start believing in miracles“… After begrudgingly advertising my beloved car for sale weeks prior, the next morning someone contacted me (an actual serious buyer, unlike all the low-ball ridiculous offers) to come buy my Volvo that afternoon. Needless to say, I was feeling blue (no pun intended) about letting her go.
I sat quietly and thought to myself about how much I really love my car, how much every time I think about road tripping I think of doing it in that vehicle, how much the 240 wagon is my ultimate car, racking my brain in a last ditch effort to figure out a solution to keep her, but the nagging reality kept poking back at me; I was literally in physical pain when I drove her. I knew it was time to let her go. Why oh why can’t she just be an automatic damnit!?, I asked myself.
A few moments later, I saw that I had a new message via marketplace. It was a woman contacting me who is also a Volvo lover/owner. She just happened to randomly be perusing marketplace as she apparently periodically does, and saw my ad. She asked if she could come over so we could talk. She too has a Volvo wagon, and was not interested in selling, but had oddly enough been wanting a standard. Needless to say, I am the ecstatic owner of a 1993 (the last year they made this model aka the newest one you can own) 240 automatic transmission Volvo station wagon named Bruce! We straight up traded our cars!!!
🎶And it's real, believe what I say, yeah
Just one thing I got to say
I need a miracle every day🎶
