Driving

I’m buying a car today. I’ve had my car for ten years; ten years of road trips and shopping trips and swim practice and carpool and boys learning how to drive and one time when I’m pretty sure that I hit a squirrel. Rest in peace, squirrelly. 

My younger son is about to get his driver’s license. I remember when my older son got his license, and I spent several weeks paralyzed by anxiety about the idea of my 16-year-old son out driving on the public highways with all of the maniacs. And then it just became a normal everyday thing, watching him get in his car and drive away. The thing is that when you’re not driving in the car with them all the time, then you think about their driving a little less. Out of sight, out of mind. Once he’s licensed and driving on his own, and I’m not sitting next to him slamming the imaginary brake on the passenger’s side, I’ll stop worrying all the time and everything will be fine. I’ll worry about half the time, but I do that anyway. 

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I have a new car! Actually, I have a newish car. I bought a 2018 Toyota Rav4 at CarMax. I love CarMax. The thing to do at CarMax is to just tell yourself that you’re going to buy from whatever inventory they have on the lot, and then you can avoid a lot of drive-yourself-crazy decision-making about trim levels and colors and other extras. Pick a car of your preferred type (sedan, SUV, truck, compact) and price range, test drive it; and if you like it, buy it. If you’re really not picky you can be in and out of that place in less than two hours. 

We were there for about 2 ½ hours. I had reserved a Subaru Crosstrek for a test drive and we arrived a bit earlier so that I could look at other possible options. I took pictures of the inventory tags for the cars that I liked, and then test drove the Subaru and was very surprised that I didn’t like it at all. I love Subarus, and I loved the idea of a small car, but the Crosstrek felt too small. I pulled down the index card-size sun visor, checked traffic behind me in the petite side view mirrors, turned the bitty little steering wheel and realized that I was driving a toy car, and that driving a toy car isn’t as much fun as it sounds. 

My husband wanted me to test drive a bougie little white Volkswagen Tiguan and I would have, just to indulge him, but then I drove the Rav4 and loved it the moment I sat behind the wheel. It felt both new and exciting and familiar and comfortable and safe. I felt like I could see and control everything on the road. I reached for the sunglass holder and it was right there where I wanted it (Subaru has inexplicably removed the sunglass holder from its newer model cars). I reached above me to slide open the cover on the moonroof and there actually was a moonroof (the Crosstrek didn’t have one, and I would have missed it). 

It also has lots of luxury features that I’m not used to but trust me, I’ll get used to them. It has power everything. It has a rear view camera and parking assist and little warning chimes that sound when you’re out of your lane or about to back into someone. It has a satellite radio and seat warmers. It has a power rear liftgate. It starts at the push of a button. It looks shiny and pretty and it smells new and clean, and I can’t wait to drive it again. 

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My son got his driver’s license today. I came home from grocery shopping in my sweet new ride and saw my little Subaru, which is now his little Subaru, sitting in the driveway, its new home. Mama’s car lives in the garage. We don’t have a lot of house rules around here, but that one’s non-negotiable. I looked at it, small and neat and unassuming, and thought that that car is really my favorite kind of car–lived in, down-to-earth, well-loved. It served me well for ten years and now it belongs to my son. Right now, my new car, as much as I love it, is too new to be my favorite kind of car but it will be soon. Maybe in three years or maybe in five. Meanwhile, right now, it’s shiny and fancy and perfect, and shiny fancy perfect cars happen to be my second favorite kind of car. It’s the end of one era and the beginning of another.