Blessings in the Inconvenient

Last year about this time, Fred and I decided that, financially, it was in the best interest of our family to go down to one vehicle. I know that many of you have done this yourselves, and it is quite workable, but the adjustment can be beyond frustrating and so very inconvenient! When you are used to having a vehicle at your disposal, it can feel terribly inconvenient to not have your own means of transportation.

While this can feel crippling when you are used to having your own freedom, over the past year I have seen many blessings in this inconvenience. This past week I've been frustrated again, as I had errands to run while Fred had appointments to keep, so I thought if I "count my many blessings" here today, I will once again appreciate what we have been blessed with.

* Auto insurance payments for only one vehicle
* Auto maintenance and repairs for only one vehicle
* Gasoline for only one vehicle (and usually I don't have to be the one to fill it up since I'm not driving!)
* With Fred being laid off, most of the time his schedule was flexible enough that we could work something out between our two vehicle needs
* We've combined our errands and therefore have spent more time together as a couple (with at least one child in the back seat jabbering away to us the whole time) and as a family
* Other frivolous spending has been cut back. When you have access to a car, what do you do with it? You feel you must shop. My closest friends and family know that I am NOT a shopper by any stretch of imagination (I hate it!!), but still, when you are in a store, chances are you will see things that you really don't need and you will buy them! When you don't have a car, it's more of a hassle to explain to your husband exactly which type of cheese you need for your recipe than to just improvise and/or do without.
* Since I can't go anywhere, I have had more people over for visits here. That's been great because I don't have to pack up kids or convince them that it's time to leave when we're out. Besides, I enjoy having my friends over!
* I can get more done during my day here at home because I'm not out running around town
* I've been able to help people out by babysitting for them because, chances are, I have no plans to be anywhere!
* I get in some exercize because I have to walk to the store at the corner or we walk to the park instead of driving some other place for fun.

There are many blessings in the inconvenient situations in our lives and I'm trying to recognize and even verbalize the blessings more so that I can maintain a heart that has learned to be content in whatever state I'm in. I'm not always sucessful at this (Ask Fred. He's heard my gripes and complains about feeling trapped and stuck and all that.), but that's why I want to verbalize it here to all of you so that I can make the blessings my focus instead of the inconveniences.

That all being said, now you know that I have no car to run around so you can come visit me whenever you want! Chances are, I'll be here. We can have a coffee or tea together and some type of snack which may be improvised since I may not have all the ingredients on hand for a fancy treat. Not to worry, a can of baked beans or some dry saltine crackers can be just as fun to eat when you eat it with friends over coffee and conversation! Truth be told, my most fun visits with friends lately have been with the kids playing downstairs and we moms are upstairs playing on our borrowed Wii!