Then And Now

Spring 2007....

...Today

"When"

Have you ever found it funny how advertisers for "your dream vacation," "your perfect wedding," and other (expensive) exhilarating events like to refer to them as "once-in-a-lifetime"? It may be true that such experiences are often limited to just once. But, when it comes down to it I'd far rather have applying a band-aid be the sort of experience that's once in a lifetime. Rarity seems hardly a plus when considering the best things in life.

I've definitely been riding high and dry these days where dream vacations and weddings are concerned. But I don't want to cram all my "onces-in-a-lifetime" into the first half of my life, so that's ok. I've been so busy, besides, with the too-many-for-one-lifetime sort of experiences the advertisers don't talk about that I haven't had time for anything else.

Take car trouble, for example.

I feel like I am a little girl again, at a tea party where someone's brother is serving the tea. "Say 'when,'" he demands, politely, beginning to pour. "That's enough, thank you." He keeps pouring. "I don't need anymore, thank you." He keeps pouring. "*squeal* You overflowed my cup!!!" To which he oh-so-innocently responds, producing a rag to wipe it up, "You didn't say 'when.'"

Yes. Somewhere along the line, I think I must have forgotten to say "when."

Which must be the reason my car mysteriously disappeared from my driveway in the middle of the night a couple of weeks ago. Such moments make for a good twist in a murder mystery, but even without a body they're rather inconvenient in real life. Not to mention the police officer who filed the theft report didn't so much as produce a magnifying glass. Boooring....

So just for the record, I say "WHEN!"

Maybe my next car will run for five consecutive years causing no more trouble than an infrequent need for gas or an oil change. Now that would be a for once in my lifetime experience worth having.