New Car Smell

I celebrated the end of chemo by buying myself a little present. It's not so little, I mean it's bigger than a breadbox, but it's little compared to others of its kind. In fact, it's so little, you could call it MINI.

Yep, a MINI COOPER. A convertible, in fact. It's blue. And drives like a go-cart. And I look oh so cute in it. And you know what, being bald is very convenient when driving a convertible. No nasty windblown hair.

Some might argue it was a rash decision. Or perhaps a bit impractical...I did in fact trade in my SUV and all its room (and its 18mpg) for it. When taking my dogs anywhere, we'll now have to smash them into the back of our sporty, yet not as cute 4 door sedan. But dears, this decision is a long time coming.

See, when I left life on cruise ships and Alan and I settled down for a life "on land," I desperately wanted a MINI. We drove them, looked at them... but decided we needed something bigger. Something more reasonable. Something for the dogs. So a few years go by, and you would think my MINI obsession would subside. Not so, my friends. I would see them on the road, cheer them on in their adorable little speed racer mentality.

Upon traveling to England, home to the MINI, every time I saw them on the road I would yell, "One MINI COOPER, Mwa-ha-ha. Two MINI COOPERS, Mw-ha-ha." This is easiest to imagine using your very best Count from "Sesame Street" voice.

When the convertible came out, I decided it was finally my time. I had recently gotten my current job. But practicality won out. We needed the room. We didn't need to spend the money, yada yada yada...

Then last winter, Alan and I were serious. We were going to buy a MINI. We contacted a salesperson in Atlanta. It was our goal to order one and pick it up when we moved. We went back and forth for a few months, building a MINI online, talking to dealers, we were all set to put down the deposit. YAY!

Not so much. That week, I found out I had cancer. Our world was now doctors and tests and surgeries. We put thoughts of the MINI aside. With deductibles and baby hatching and whatnot, we decided it wouldn't be practical to spend the money. We were worried about other things. Suddenly, bonnet stripes didn't seem so important. Alan emailed our salesperson and said "sorry." We bought a nice used 4 door instead. For half the cost. We commented on how good we were being. How safe. How responsible.

Well, guess what? Here I am, six months later. And I still love the MINI. And I still cheer when I see it on the road. And dammit, I just finished chemo. And dammit, we can afford it. And dammit, life's too short to be practical all the time.

I'm done putting aside my dreams. There's a time and place for practical- and guess what, it's never really been in my "free spirited" nature, so why start now? I used to do a lot of dancing and singing. So guess what? Dance lessons and vocal work for me. And I always wanted a MINI. So I got one. Time to stop having cancer and time to start getting a life.

So please, don't wait till something shitty like cancer makes you realize it's time to do something just for you. Whether it's a car or a new job or those oh-so-great-but-they-cost-too-much-but-my-ass-looks-so-good pair of pants. Life's too short.

Now if only I could get Alan out of the driver's seat.