So this week I had the fun and games of my car getting flattened by a tree in a storm. I’m not going to lie, it sucks. I’m not in a position to be able to replace straight away, and I’m hoping the insurance covers the remaining finance - but hey, I’m lucky enough to be here to be able to write this. I’ve always looked after my cars, irrespective of what it’s been and whether it has been mine or a company car. I guess it comes down to always taking pride in what I have, or been entrusted to have. The reason I do so is because it’s a reflection of me. Incidentally, the two photos on the blog are two weeks apart. The first after I spent 5hrs cleaning, buffing and polishing. The second after I got the tree off the car.
Even from when I got my first ever car when I was 18yrs old. A mk1 Ford Fiesta, I loved that car, I really did. Not just the fact that it was my first real tangible asset, apart from mountain bikes prior to it, but I guess the one thing it truly gave me was independence. Nothing can match that feeling of being able to go where you like whenever you like. Being in charge of our own adventures and depending on how much money we had earned in our part time jobs depended on just how far the adventures went. Something that many of us take for granted now, but if we think back to when we first were afforded that opportunity, it is something that will always stick with us. Same as being able to remember the registration of our first car - mine was VIA 8464.
Even though that car was a lifetime ago, I still remember it fondly. Pretty much the same for the one that got taken out by the sycamore tree on my driveway this week. Another car that I looked after, not just because of the financial implications involved in owning it, but the fact that yet again it was something I was proud to own. I work hard, and part of the reward for doing so was being able to own an Audi A5 Coupé. Yes I’m little bit upset, but you know what - it’s just a piece of metal. Nobody got hurt when the tree come down. People can’t be replaced, but cars can. Ultimately it’s just a lump of metal. Whilst I will have memories of it, it won’t do of me.
That was the turning point about how I’ve handled the situation this week. I am a firm believer in not getting stressed about things that are beyond my control. But more so than this, material items in life are simply that. We can work hard for them, we can enjoy them and be proud of them, but tomorrow they can be gone. I got to see my car being taken away on the recovery truck on Tuesday.
Things are simply that - they are just items in our lives. Some have more financial value than others, whilst some have more sentimental value. Often the sentimental value is far more than the monetary value. In fairness it should be, as sentiment shouldn’t be about monetary value - it’s about memories and love.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that yes, the nicest car I’ve ever owned is gone, but it’s only the nicest one ‘so far’. I don’t doubt I will remember my first car long after this one has gone. Save for the fact that this car is the only one I’ve had squashed by a tree. That in itself is a story to be told, nothing more.
On reflection, it doesn’t matter what we have in a material world, because what we have today isn’t necessarily why we will have tomorrow. The important bit is knowing the true worth of what we have, and most of all the true worth of who we are. For that, is something that is priceless.
Perhaps a squashed car, but never squashed dreams...
Happy Damn Friday Peeps! x
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