There use to be a thought that I gave way more space in my mind than it deserved. It still often sneaks its way in to take a chair in my mental space that I find myself needing to let it know… that seat is already taken by do what makes you happy.
Last year we started to have some troubles with our truck. It was in the shop more than on the road. We still had a loan on the truck but not too far from paying it off. The dealership it was at offered to buy it from us. Ryan and I agreed it was time to let it go. This paid off our loan and we were a step closer to financial freedom… but we needed another truck. We searched and searched but everything was so overpriced and we were not about to get another loan. Ryan being Ryan sold me on the fact we could just get a cheap truck for now because we had just made it through winter and just need a truck to get us back and forth from market.
I reluctantly agreed but deep down knew Ryan was going to be extremely cheap with his selection because of how close we have become to reaching our debt free goal. He found a truck 2 weeks later and we went to look at it. Let’s just say she wasn’t pretty, it was almost 30 years old but was reliable we were told and it was an old city truck.
Ryan bought it… I remember on the way home thinking what will people think when we pull up in this truck vs our much newer one? How do I explain this!? People are going to think we are experiencing financial hardship. This is embarrassing I thought to myself.
My first official ride in that truck was to pick up farm supplies in Cedar Falls. It was a busy weekend and Ryan already knew I was a little embarrassed about the truck. We had to stop at Menards. I went to get out and the door would not open. Ryan was standing behind the truck and I looked at him and he smirked as he gave me the winding motion to roll down my window and open it from the outside. That was a humbling experience to say the least. It was a reminder of the greater goal we are after and to clear that mental space and make room for what makes you happy. Even if people see you coming and reconsider their parking decisions or hit that lock button a couple extra times for good measure… trust me it happened 😃 I think that by far was the most humbling part for me.
I did voice a few grievances to him that day but inside I was laughing about the gentle reminder of being humble. Ryan names everything he brings into this house. The truck’s official name is Beverly. We drove Beverly all summer even though the heat never shut off at all and the truck didn’t have AC but Ryan got a little fan he would share every so often on the hottest of days.
We ended up getting another truck after we saved enough money to make a sound financial decision to buy a newer truck before winter. Ryan put the old truck up for sale but it was me who told him not to sell Beverly because I would use that truck this summer for market. So if you happen to read this story about Beverly just know we have come a long way and I now drive her with pride even though my feet barely reach the peddles she reminds me to just move a little closer and don’t take her over 55 and we will be just fine.
Moral of the story… We are conditioned far too much to care what others think. Let them park somewhere else and hit their lock button a few extra times. You continue to roll that window down and open it from the outside if you have to. Keep chasing your dreams. #behumble
-Jamie
Moral Of The Story 