Does Having a Car in the Driveway Mean I'm Not Actually Carfree?

Yesterday I drove Angel Baby's car to work. This morning I rode my bike to Uptown, went to Starbucks for my usual Thursday treat, then hopped on the bus to work.

I have most definitely come to prefer the bus or my bike, and even though it would be much easier -- I'm not even sure easier is the right word; convenient?  --  to take Angel Baby to work then drive on over to campus, I'd much rather

wait five minutes at the bus stop, feeling
the cool November breeze touch
my cheeks
take a seat near the back of the bus
look out the window, watch
the last of red maple leaves
skitter along the sidewalk
relax, ten minutes
of meditation or reading a chapter
of the book I'm into, music
whispering from earbuds.

The idea of driving being easier, more convenient, and time-saving than riding my bike or taking the bus really isn't true in my case.

Driving the Jeep is fun. No doubt. But I simply don't want the stress of driving. I want to be chauffeured around.

I get that I'm technically not carfree since there is a vehicle sitting in my driveway. I'm choosing, though, to not drive it. It is paid for, and Angel Baby has declared he's paying the insurance, so I'm reserving the right to continue claiming I'm carfree. Five months now.

A colleague asked me the other day how my carfree life is going. She, too, takes the bus to work every day and has done so for the past three years. She, too, has a car, but she chooses not to drive it most of the time. Not having to deal with car maintenance, filling the gas tank, reckless (dare I say downright crazy?) drivers, and everything else that goes along with driving a car has been such a relief. While we don't really think about all of these things contributing to stress, not doing them now for five months has opened my eyes to just how much they were contributing to me feeling stressed each day. I like not feeling that stress.

Tomorrow we might have snow. An inch. And I haven't bought my boots yet! I've been putting off buying them, thinking I wouldn't really need them until December, but the weather is saying, "Ha! Gotcha!" This morning was quite chilly for my ride to Uptown. Halfway there I was wishing I'd worn my winter cycling gloves. They look like lobster claws, but they're warm, much warmer than the thinner gloves I wore today. I was also wishing I had a pair of warm boots as my toes were cold by the time I reached the transit station.

Update: So I wrote this post yesterday with the intention of publishing it after I got home from work. That didn't happen. I'm just now publishing it, and since I am, here is a photo from this morning's walk with Ado. Snow. As promised. And absolutely beautiful.



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