A couple of weeks ago, back in January, Astrid surprised the heck out of me
when she unfurled a well-formed brain fart to trade in our 4-year-old car for a
new one.
In 2010 we had purchased out-right our Granny Towanda (above), 3 months
after I moved to Dutchland. Her Granny-Smith-Apple green, melded
with Towanda from Fried Green Tomatoes, was a perfect match for us
ladies of a certain age, we thought. Astrid treated her with kid gloves
every single day and praised the ground she drove on. I never saw anyone
take better care of a car.
So when at 48K km (30K miles) Astrid unfurled her plan, I was
startled. Somehow I assumed Granny Towanda (GT) was just getting
started. Maybe by American standards, yes, but by Dutch standards?
No. (Remember “200 years vs. 200 miles?”) Apparently 50K km is the magic number over which you don’t drive
if you want a good trade-in deal on a small car.
And so a bit bemused, I sat back and watched the story unfold. One
week after hatching her plan, we talked shop with Pedro over a new car.
He had sold us GT and knew Astrid well enough to see the good deal he was
getting, especially since Daihatsu was no longer selling our car in
Europe. It was a win-win…and a week later we picked up our “new” silverleaf
Škoda Citigo, a 6500 km demo we couldn’t refuse. It was like Christmas a month
late, which I never saw coming.
But that’s not the surprise I’m talking about!
Remember when I mentioned last post how the Dutch turn the year when January comes…and how I wanted to
turn it upside down to rattle my cage? Hoping all the bad stuff would
slide right out and leave room for new energy!
Well, it’s mid-February and the revolution has begun! Call it
an intention, call it a mantra, call it my word for the year. But in the
same way I go to bed at night and wake up in the morning with thank-you
on my lips, I have now added “…and WHO?!” Thank you…and WHO? Who
can I reach out to today?! Who can I love, help, build up, encourage,
comfort, praise?! Who can I surprise by joy?!
Not to sound corny but…IT’S WORKING! I’m not thinking about me,
myself and I all the time now, which was the point. My focus
is more outward than inward.
Between you, me and the lamppost…I’m calling this my 2014 personal
REVOLUTION. It’s like I’m on a war path. GET OUT OF MY WAY,
Ginnie. I’m way too old to not “get it” and still young enough to
change. Thoughts become actions, you know, and actions become a way of
life. And they have the power to surprise the heck out of us!
¡Viva la Revolución! Viva the JOY!
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