November 9: I'm Thankful For . . .
Lower gas prices.
When gas prices rose above $4.oo a gallon, I felt our life changing. Every trip counted ~ no more joy rides. There was no such thing as a single errand anymore; now every little trip was bundled with to-dos. If I had to return a library book, I thought about what other things I could pack into the same run - hair cut, doctor's visit, health food store, bank.
Spontaneity was pretty much a goner ~ who can afford to be spontaneous with gas over $4? When it costs at least $60 to fill the tank, suddenly it's all about planning.
This morning as we were driving to church, I saw that the price of gas was $2.48 a gallon. I was shocked! Delighted! Now, it didn't drop overnight; it's been coming down a few pennies at a time. But so far, I'm still multitasking my errand runs. Have to run out for a pound of green beans? Better exchange my daughter's jeans, pick up guinea pig food, return that video. Yes, gas is cheaper, and I'm thankful for that, because it's a lot cheaper to fill the tank now. But I'm also thankful for the lessons I learned when gas was a lot more expensive. Lifestyle lessons that are just part of my routine now. Painless, for the most part.
But if gas prices continue to fall, maybe we'll take a joy ride one of these afternoons. A bit of planned spontaneity to take in the last of this season's foliage ~ enjoying fall in every sense of the word.
What are you thankful for today?
When gas prices rose above $4.oo a gallon, I felt our life changing. Every trip counted ~ no more joy rides. There was no such thing as a single errand anymore; now every little trip was bundled with to-dos. If I had to return a library book, I thought about what other things I could pack into the same run - hair cut, doctor's visit, health food store, bank.
Spontaneity was pretty much a goner ~ who can afford to be spontaneous with gas over $4? When it costs at least $60 to fill the tank, suddenly it's all about planning.
This morning as we were driving to church, I saw that the price of gas was $2.48 a gallon. I was shocked! Delighted! Now, it didn't drop overnight; it's been coming down a few pennies at a time. But so far, I'm still multitasking my errand runs. Have to run out for a pound of green beans? Better exchange my daughter's jeans, pick up guinea pig food, return that video. Yes, gas is cheaper, and I'm thankful for that, because it's a lot cheaper to fill the tank now. But I'm also thankful for the lessons I learned when gas was a lot more expensive. Lifestyle lessons that are just part of my routine now. Painless, for the most part.
But if gas prices continue to fall, maybe we'll take a joy ride one of these afternoons. A bit of planned spontaneity to take in the last of this season's foliage ~ enjoying fall in every sense of the word.
What are you thankful for today?
I'm thankful that people started combining errands when the gas prices went up...and that the habit stuck when the prices dropped!
ReplyDelete(sorry I'm a bit late on this one...but it's near and dear to my heart!)