Project Car Musings:

I've told you before ( at my old blog http://ramblingrose.blog-city.com ).. haven't I? About Husband's project car. Here's the whole story(well, most of it anyway). He bought this car as a teenager and drove it for several years. Matter of fact.. I first saw him in June 1990 at my best friends house walking to this car. It wasn't exactly love at first sight.. but I thought about him quite alot and when he asked me out later that year... that first "sight" was what made me say yes(I was 15.. a mere baby). The car in question is a 1970's era Buick Centurion convertible. Right after he asked me to marry him.. he decided to restore the car properly, and it's been in various stages of rust and unrecovery ever since. Until, that is, I gave him a strong nudge.

My words on the subject (coming after the caged free storage from my favorite uncle had "expired" after four years) were "Either finish it and soon.. or get rid of it and stop burdening ourselves and others with it's existence". At that time.. it'd been in a damp and mousey garage for years, following being in a dry and mousey barn for years, following being outdoors without hood or decent top for years. We'd been married almost 12 years, and this thing had done nothing but add clutter, stress and a nagging sense of guilt.

Perhaps other women would have said it more strongly, or not even presented the option of restoring it. I'm on this uneasy road to learning how to keep a good attitude and a submissive heart.. so I did what felt fair. Which is how we came to be spending thousands and thousands of dollars on this car that:
1. Will require garage space we are currently using for other things.
2. Will require specialty insurance.. after all..it's a "collectors" car now.
3. Will NOT legally hold our family of seven.
4. Is a ragtop... so it won't be comfortable in winter.
5. Is surely destined to be babied and so won't be drivable in anykind of "tough" circumstances. I hesitate to imagine how Husband will react the first time the children manage to grind a granola bar or fruit snack into the carpet.

Why.. you may be wondering.. would I want Husband to go ahead and restore this car?

1. It's part of our shared history. My first Husband sighting.. our first car ride together.. our first trip after engagement.. various and sundry other "firsts".
2. It's part of Husband's personal history. And.. I've learned that cars figure in men's history in a way that women can't usually relate to. This car has emotional meaning for my husband, and losing it would be like losing a friend.
3. We'd reached the point of having no more free storage available.. it was "restore" or move on time.
4. I decided that even though he seemed willing to part with this car... it had to be his decision, and that if he chose "restore".. that I'd help make it work and would enjoy it.

I'm sure we could have used the money for other more practical things. Trust me.. with five children, a needy house, and a bare wardrobe... there are always things to spend money on that are practical uses.
However... my dear husband works so hard for us... everyday he gets up before dawn and goes to work.. commuting 50min each way to return near dusk. Sometimes doing impractical fun things is the right thing to do. Practical uses of money don't always trump doing something that is totally impractical that has great meaning and signifigance. After all.. it's just money. Money that doesn't get used to bring joy or security into our lives is wasted money in my opinion. Just because our needs are many doesn't mean one of those needs isn't to have some fun.... Whatever else this car is.. it's going to be fun. After all.. it's a convertible that rides like a huge sofa going down the road!

Husband has some pictures I can share (whenever I figure out the uploading to blog thing) so you can see his new "baby". It's jaguar green (my favorite color) with cream interior and ragtop.

We've gotten notice that the restorers are finished (just sticking a few pieces of trim on and finishing fine-tuning the engine).. so this week we are cleaning out the garage to make room for our new(old) family member. Husband isn't acting really excited... I'm not sure it's sunk in that he'll finally be getting his baby back.
Besides the garage cleaning out project.. I've got to try to find a seatbelt attachment that will allow us to buckle four instead of three in the back seat (it's certainly wide enough!).