A Woody Wagon Tale.

To say we have been thinking about an old car for a long time would be quite the understatement.  We always daydreamed about an old car.  It was most certainly one of those someday, my favorite things.  With our two crazy girls, we were always unofficially on the hunt.  I would keep my eyes peeled around town for cars parked in yards or alongside highways.  We called on many of them, but nothing ever felt right.  Okay, maybe it felt right, but was way out of our budget.  Cue a sad, sad tune.  Then a month or so ago, Kerry was hunting on eBay and he came across a car.  A bit unlike ones that we had always looked at.  A bit newer and definitely more quirky.  He was entirely smitten.  I should mention here that I never cared all that much what kind of old car we had, just so long as we had one someday.  Back to Kerry being entirely smitten.  I caught him watching the listing on more than one occasion.  Then I saw him showing it to the girls.  They loved it too, obviously.  They are under two, they think dirty socks on the floor are awesome.  The point is, Kerry was really excited about it.  The car didn't sell on eBay, but the owner had left his phone number in the listing.  Isn't that illegal?  We like to call it fate.  Anyways, long story short we called the owner and worked out a deal.  We sent money, he sent the title.  The car was ours ... but it was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Roadtrip!  We snagged a one way rental car and took off at four in the morning, arriving in Sioux Falls at one in the afternoon.  We were met downtown Sioux Falls by an elderly woman with a walker.  She was really nice.  We meant to take a photo with her, but she had multiple sclerosis.  Just the effort it took to meet us was asking much of her.  She showed us the car and it truly felt right.  After returning the rental, we stopped at a diner downtown.  A perfect photo-op opportunity.

Yes, we bought a 1987 Town and Country LeBaron Woody Wagon.  It is so, so not everyone's cup of tea.  In fact, after Kerry stopped beaming, he made the comment that people's first (and perhaps only) response would be, "Why the h-e-double hockey sticks  heck did you buy a 1987 Woody Wagon?"  He was right.  That has been most people's response.

You know, I don't think it is so much the car itself we love.  It is the theory behind the car that gets us.  This car signifies something.  It embodies the sense of adventure that we are hoping to instill in our girls and our family.  I mean, you jump in an old woody wagon and trust it to get you home across the rural Midwest after dark and tell me that that isn't thrilling.  I get it, not everyone's cup of tea.  You see my point though.  I posted a picture on Instagram while we driving home and captioned it, 

"We have long dreamt of an adventure car. Something to take flea marketing, out for ice cream, and to church on Sundays. Perhaps, down Route 66 someday. It is a 1987. Not really old, but not really young. Sort of like us, really. Born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Coming home to Illinois for its next adventure with us and our crazy girls. #woodywagonforthewin"

We knew that most people would question our sanity when we purchased this car.  What we didn't expect was to feel as emboldened as we do today.  Doing something that most would deem crazy, is rather liberating.  In a way, it has given us a renewed confidence in who we are as a family and likewise, where we are going.  Amidst the quirkiness there is beauty (a good friend said that recently to me and the parallel has stuck with me since).  This whole parallel is kind of like Jesus' story, isn't it?  Going against the grain, a renewed sense of confidence, and a joy that is unsquelchable by what others say.  Interesting.  I think this is another one of those moments where God uses unlikely tangible objects to teach me something.  Good thing it wasn't ceramic bust vases again, lest you really think I am nuts.

Here's to a really, really sweet adventure.