Guidance and Goodbye

Saying goodbye when a relationship comes to an end is never easy, and all relationships do come to an end one way or another. Things happen; changes occur, frequently due to age. Death is often an ending of a relationship. Therefore, goodbyes are an integral part of life.

I had to say goodbye this week. I knew it was coming one day, but didn’t expect it so soon.

This relationship was 12 years in the making. I had begun to realize the time would be coming when I felt the aging process beginning to take its toll and the dependability beginning to slip. It was an emotional moment when I realized what was happening and that I had to act. And sooner rather than later.

I had started the mental process to distance myself, but the emotional distancing was a bit harder. This makes sense because we can rationalize why we should end relationships yet still fail to act on them, sometimes. Yet, this ending came upon me so unexpectedly that I wasn’t quite sure what was happening. But, it is over and done, and I’m moving forward. As best I can.

I sold my car last week. Well, actually just four days ago.

My car was a 2006 GMC Envoy with nearly 160,000 miles. Eleven years of a 70 mile a day commute add up to some great memories, as well as a physical toll. Everything was working well, considering, up until a couple of weeks before. There were small cosmetic things I could live with. Yet, when the transmission began slipping I knew I had to begin the process. But, could I afford a new car on a new retiree’s pension? And what could I afford? I took the car into the mechanic to investigate exactly what was wrong with the transmission and the verdict came back. It was indeed showing wear. The service rep said it would be about $3,000 to rebuild the transmission. And a couple of other potentially expensive repairs were beginning show their face also. Well, that’s also a down payment for a new car. My roommate suggested finding a cheaper mechanic. But, that would only postpone the inevitable, I countered. But better to be fully prepared, she replied. Valid points all, I thought. 

So, I began my search for something. Now I will say, I am a loyal shopper. I’ve had good luck with my last two vehicles from General Motors. There are certain features I wanted to have in my car, some of which are only available on certain GM models. That limits my shopping choices. I also wanted to be more fuel efficient, and I knew the hybrids were all out of my price range.

I decided on what I wanted to see. I headed to the dealer not intending to buy, but to test drive a couple of models. The young salesman was very attentive, listened to my concerns, my history, my questions. If he didn’t have the answer, he told me so, then he got it. Immediately. An honest car salesman! There were a couple of things that caught my attention about him. He started to get the key for a test drive, but quickly returned for my drivers’ license, a sheepish grin on his face. Hmmmm, a newbie? Well, he was quite young, after all. We all start somewhere.

We headed out on the test drive and I was really feeling the car. It handled well for a smaller version of what I was maybe trading in. The salesman turned to me and confessed, “I’m a bit new at this.”

“I sensed that,” I said. “And I appreciate your honesty. It doesn’t matter to me that you’re new, as long as you continue your honesty.” It turned out he had been there only two weeks!

At that precise moment, I glanced at the license plate on the car to my left, 222. Immediately in front of it was 333. Seriously? Even on a test drive the synchronicities show up! Twos indicate to keep the faith and threes are a reminder that the universe is on my side. I guess this was a sign, or a pair of them, to go forward with the car. I pointed these plates out to the salesman whose jaw hit the floor. “That can’t be a coincidence,” he says.

“Ya think,” I think in my head. “I don’t think it was,” I said, “Oh, look.” I said pointing at a third plate in a matter of seconds, “777.”

We return to the dealership and I’m now seriously considering buying the car. But, I had seen one particular model in the dealership’s online inventory I wanted to check out. I had also wanted to test drive another larger car, for comparison’s sake. I did and wasn’t impressed. Plus, it would have been way out of my budget. After this second test drive, I inquired on the actual vehicle I wanted to check out. I gave the salesman the stock number and we find out it happened to have been parked next to the one we originally test drove. Um, another sign?

We went in to run some numbers to see what I could afford and what I might get for my trade in, still nothing was set in stone.

As we were sitting in the cubicle running the numbers, a strange feeling of “just trust that it will all work out” came over me. And I am not one to ignore signs, though sometimes that ego gets in the way. But, this time I felt I needed to follow my instinct.

We finished the sales papers and I was waiting for the finance department to be ready. Once there, the salesman came in to check on the progress, and to let me know that they were ready to deliver my new car to me, as it had been washed, cleaned and brought to the front. The finance rep then congratulated the salesman on his very first sale! What a day for both of us! I get a new car, and he gets his first sale!

As we were going over the features of the car, I got out my phone to pair it to the bluetooth of the car. The time was 4:44!

I showed the salesman, he shook his head in disbelief. My fourth set of triple numbers in a matter of hours!

I guess it was all meant to be.

For both of us.

2018 Chevrolet Trax