This is a follow up to my first post about the possibility of selling my 2006 minivan and how I trusted God and my husband with the outcome. I had wanted to possibly sell my minivan because we don’t really need so much space now that we aren’t lugging strollers, pac-n-plays and high chairs around. And the gas milage isn’t the best on my van – just 18 mpg.
I know you are all on pins and needles! 🙂
WHAT I DID
I cleaned the inside and outside of the van to the best of my ability. It was a bit of a birthday gift to myself (I don’t splurge on car washes very often! And the one I go to has a FREE VACUUM that works really well). I also figured I would be prepared in case we did end up trying to sell the van.
I waited patiently several days to see if my husband mentioned anything. He didn’t. That’s fine.
I looked online to see what the blue book value of the van would be.
It’s SOOOO CLEAN inside! Mostly! 🙂
THE CONVERSATION
Wednesday night, I said (in a pleasant, cheerful, nonchalant voice), “I looked up the blue book value of the van today.”
He said, “$7,000 – $8,000”
I was surprised! He had already looked it up, too. 🙂
He said, “The kind of car that would really save money on gas would be something pretty small that I don’t think you would be very happy with. If we got a car like that, I calculated that we would save about $1000/year on gas. But it would probably cost us $10,000 – $12,000 more than what we would get for your van to get a car that would be that good on gas milage. There are some other cars that would get slightly better gas milage, like 25mpg, but the savings on gas costs wouldn’t be very significant just changing from 18mpg to 25mpg.”
So I said, “Thanks for checking into that! I really appreciate it. Hmm… I see how the gas savings wouldn’t really pay off right now.”
I love how my husband often gives me an explanation for his reasoning. That helps me understand and trust him more.
But there are some times when husbands don’t have the time to explain their reasons for things, and I still cooperate with my husband now even if he doesn’t explain.
I didn’t allow myself to get super attached to the idea of selling the van and getting something smaller. That is a HUGE reason why I can have peace no matter what way decisions go now.
There was no argument.
There were no raised voices, stomping or slammed doors.
I didn’t try to force my way. I didn’t take over and just make a decision on my own. I didn’t freak out or worry at any point during the week. There was no resentment on either side. Each of us felt heard and understood. And I believe we have a great decision for our family!
A TANGENT
In 1996 my husband and I visited Olympic Centennial Park in Atlanta – the same year that the Olympics were held there. A man started running past us with a gun drawn. I totally panicked and took off running away from the gun guy. Greg tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen and kept running away from the man with the gun.
What Greg realized, and I hadn’t – was that the man with the gun I had seen was an undercover cop/government agent. And Greg also saw that there was another man with a gun – the bad guy – and I was running TOWARDS the bad dude.
Thankfully, Greg got to me and steered me to safety. No shots were fired that I know of. Greg whisked me quickly away.
My point?
There are some times when I just need to listen to Greg without an explanation. He will probably tell me his reasoning later. Then I can thank him for being my HERO and the best husband in the world!
MY PLAN
I will call the gentleman who was interested in buying our van in a few days and tell him, “My husband is not interested in selling, but thanks for the offer!”
And then I will enjoy my van, my children and my husband. ☺️
RELATED POSTS
If you are new to my blog – you may not have seen some of my other real life examples. That is the kind of thing I think would have been super helpful to me 4 years ago when I was first learning this stuff. Check out these posts, too:
My Husband Wants to Go Where?!?!
Handling Adversity with Joy and without Complaining
A Real Life Example of Submission and Respect
How God Used an Old Truck and a Wife’s Great Faith
HELP ME!
So – it was a really bad idea (in hindsight) to ask my daughter to draw a birthday card for her cousin 2 summers ago and leave the crayons in the car armrest when it was over 100F outside. I tried to chisel the melted crayons out this week – not working. Any suggestions?