Marriage Is A Lot Like A Car

Today CL and I are celebrating our 34^th wedding anniversary. 

Long ago, when I was a little girl, I dreamt of being swept off my feet as my Prince Charming came riding into my life on his white charger…well, my Prince Charming did come riding in, but NOT on a white charger but in his White Datsun B210. Her name was Betty.  She was reliable and sporty!  Our marriage began that way too.  We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Manti Temple.  We knew our love for eachother was reliable, but we also were enjoying the sport of newlyweds!  Betty was just right for hubby and me. We could sit next to eachother holding hands and talk about sweet nothings!

Add several years and lot’s more kids and you would see us driving an Old Clunker…this was the year CL got laid off.  We were expecting our 7^th child and times were difficult.  Some friends had pity on us when our ‘other’ car died.  They gave us the Old Clunker.  The Old Clunker was a blessing and we were so grateful for her hardy motor and sturdy body.  Her upholstery was torn and the seats sagged a bit, but she never did die on us!  Old Clunker resembled our marriage at this point, though poverty had struck us, we were rich in our hardy love for eachother and our bodies were sturdy, being supported by our love and faith in the Lord.

CL had several odd jobs that carried us through and about a year later, he landed a great job.  Not only were we growing financially, but our family was growing…the next vehicle to come to our marriage was a 12 passenger van.  We didn’t fill up all the seats yet, but the extra room was a welcome relief!  All too soon though, we had 11 kids.  The van was full, our marriage was full! But we were no longer sitting next to eachother, holding hands and talking of sweet nothings.  Our conversations were more to the tune of, “sit down kids, get your seat belts on, who’s missing, keep your sticky fingers off the upholstery…”

Time kept ticking and we surprisingly found our family getting smaller.  A Grand Marquis marked a new season in our lives.  Financially we were stable, we could get a bit fancier car that provided a smoother ride. This was also a smoother time in our marriage, life was settling down, no more diapers or destroying toddlers. Once again, I could actually sit next to my husband as we drove down the street!

As life often does…the unexpected happened and we found ourselves needing a wheelchair accessible vehicle.  We located a used 12 passenger van and had a wheelchair lift installed.  Just like our adjusted van, we found our family adjusting to new areas of focus to accommodate the changes in our life style. This was our Darth Vader Van…When I’d exit our van it looked like Darth Vader coming out of his spaceship.  All I needed was some smoke and cool music to finish off the affect!

Last year our family downsized to just CL, 3 teens and me.  The need for a huge van was over. Our current vehicle is now a nice wheelchair accessible Mini Van. It runs smooth and is comfortable.  Our marriage has made it through the big, the noisy, and the sticky!  Now we’re enjoying the small and simple things!

What kind of car are you using and what does it say about your current time of life?