Blue Pearla

On March 18th, we welcomed Blue Pearla into our family. Blue Pearla is our 2018 Subaru Outback.  This felt like an extraordinarily impulsive purchase at the time, although nine months later, it appears as though it might not have been.  It started one night in February when the van broke down. 


 We were visiting Anne's family in New York.  It was late, and dark, and cold.  The van lost all power.  Fortunately, but not surprisingly, a kind woman stopped and helped us jump the car.  And fortunately, we were about 3 miles from our  brother-in-law's auto body shop. It turned out to be the alternator.  For the second time.  In July of the previous year, we had been on our way to the Outer Banks when the exact same thing happened. 

A few weeks later, Anne was driving the now 12 year old Accord on 495 in the direction of the American Legion Bridge.  It was late, and dark, and cold and rainy.  She was boxed in on all sides by a thick wall of traffic.  The Accord started to shake.  Anne started to shake.  She returned home and had what looked like a panic attack as she wandered room to room repeating with increasing intensity, "We need at least one good car!  We need at least one good car!  We need at least one good car!"  David agreed and suggested we wait until July. Anne decided to start looking.

We were planning to replace the Accord, but wanted a family sized car, meaning something mid-SUV size.  After quickly ruling out the Mazda CX-5, Anne test drove the CR-V and wasn't wowed.  Though, she was so convinced another Honda was the next Horak family car, that she sighed and said, "I'll try it again." David, in his infinite wisdom and with amusement, told her, "Anne, if you were sitting in a brand new car and didn't love it, it is not the car for you." We agreed to wait until July and try again.

Until the next week.  Inspiration struck Anne and she headed to the Subaru dealer thinking, maybe an Outback will feel more like driving a sedan. It was March 15th.  Anne walked in to the dealer wearing her down puffer jacket unwittingly looking like the exact target demographic for the Subaru Outback.  The salesman was no fool, he knew the way to his target demographic's heart. He handed Anne the keys and said, "take your time, enjoy it."  She sat down in the driver's seat and looked over the car.  The thought "it is beautiful" came unbidden to her mind.  As she pulled the car off the lot her heart jumped and she yelled out loud (in the car, to no one but herself), "This is my mom car!  I am going to drive my kids to soccer in this car!"  (Our kids don't play soccer.)  Nevertheless, (she persisted) and drove it directly over to David's nearby school where he was in the middle of hall duty, texting him, "I'm out front with the Subaru Outback." He came out and she urged him to get in for a test drive with her.  Which he couldn't, because, you know, hall duty.  But, he agreed it was a nice car, he liked it and that we should definitely consider it, in July.  Anne decided to take it home and see what it looked like in the garage.  Spoiler alert, it looked good in the garage.

She went to pick up Emily from school.  We swung back around and picked up David at work.  We picked up Matthew.  We went to dinner.  Then we drove the car back to the dealer where David talked business to the salesman.  Anne pointed to the blue pearl one.  David said, "we'll be back in July."  Anne said, "we'll be back on Sunday."

After a week with the Outback, we sold the van and kept the Accord.  Nine months later this past week, Anne's sister Deborah reminded her that she had always loved the Outback. Which felt a little bit to Anne like looking through a foggy mirror.  Had she?  Had she always loved it? Was she impulsive or was she acting on a long standing desire?

Either way, we are content with our decision. It is not lost on us that to know what you like and want, to have the means to attain it either on a whim or intentionally, and to be content with a decision, particularly one regarding a family sized car, firmly propels into a new season in our lives. So, for the next few years, you will see us, driving around in our blue pearl middle age.