Almost Perfect Day

You may recall how the yanking away of the Toyota Rav 4 I was leasing left me feeling a bit violated.  Being forced to drive my dead husband's car left me slightly deflated.  Not only because Larry's idea of car maintenance was, buy it, own it, maintain just enough to keep it running, drive it till it falls apart, but also because that car felt like it was going to break down any minute.  This past Thursday night, that's just what it did as I was discussing that very subject with my passenger.  But what luck, I was with a friend whose girlfriend was following us, I have AAA so towing was free, my Mom was a staying at my house and I had put a down payment on a car one week prior and was one day away from picking it up.  What does all this mean?  In a nutshell, since I do not own the car, I am not responsible for fixing it and since my Mom was at my house, she was my chauffeur for one day only until I picked up my new (used) car in Bethlehem PA.  The ride to the car this morning was a gorgeous one, hill and dale past small farms, and orchards, the kind of New Jersey you hope might really exist.  After getting the title for the car (another Rav 4 and I feel so much better feeling that I'm driving around in a safe car), we headed into the town of Bethlehem to a store that my Mom loves (I'm not much of a shopper) but I felt Larry's presence there as if to say, I know you bought a car and I'm celebrating with you so I purchased a fancy schmancy realistic smelling car air freshener--lavender.   We had trouble finding a lunch spot but stumbled upon a quirky place called Horns at Lehigh Valley College where the food was organic and delicious and I would gladly return.  I drove home stopping at one of the small farms where I picked a pint of raspberries and blackberries and payment was on the honor system with a box placed on the counter.  It felt good to be alone and abandoning my standard checklist-of-a-day.  Raspberry-stained hands, I got into the car and drove home in lavender-scented blissful solitude.