A New Addition to the Family

No, it's not what you think. In fact, it's more of a happy-sad event because we have not merely gained a new family member, but replaced one.

Last night I said good-bye to my Christmas present of '99:

This 1999 purple (umm, silver plum) Saturn was the only car I have ever owned. My parents were very generous and helped me buy it when it became apparent I would not be able to finish college without my own wheels. Shortly before meeting Matt, I had completely paid off the car. I had also saved up enough that I could have bought a new car, but I hesitated to do so, mostly because I'd never bought a car before and didn't trust myself to get a good deal. My car was reliable and perfect for me in my situation, so why go spend all that money? It turns out to be a good thing I kept my trademark purple car. Money was a bit tight for a while after Matt and I got married, and we were very grateful to have one car completely paid for.

When gas prices started to skyrocket--about the same time Patrick got home from the hospital--we decided it made a lot of sense for Matt to drive the Saturn back and forth to work. It got much better gas mileage than the Pontiac G6 he'd bought while we were dating, and he preferred to leave the safer G6 for me to drive if I needed to take Patrick anywhere. After a few weeks, though, it became apparent that Matt wasn't particularly fond of my purple Saturn. It was great for a college girl, or even a single female teacher, but not as much for the working man employed at an industrial plant. I think he took much more ribbing for driving a gay purple car than he ever let on.

Between the Saturn's deteriorating interior and Matt's discomfort (yet selflessness) with driving it, we decided it was time to replace the Saturn if we could. Matt spent part of Saturday at our local Saturn dealership working out a good deal on a brand new Ion. Last night we signed bunches of papers and drove home in this:

A little less gay, huh? Matt's infatuated. I'm kind of fond of her myself. She's quite a bit classier and much safer as a family car. Now, how do I convince Matt to drive the less gas-economic car and let me have this beauty?