Auto Bingeing

(by Pat)

As we're getting closer to the day of actually getting rid of the car, you'd think we'd sort of ease into it, right? Start the month using it two or three times a week, and then wind down to almost zero. Instead, we've been doing the opposite, taking part in a frenzy of internal combustion (which sounds vaguely unseemly).

On Sunday, we went on a little road trip to visit small farms and farm stands in Concord and Bedford and went to the mall. Grocery shopped by car. Visited the garden by car. Yesterday, I picked up some films I'd had transferred to DVD, by car. And drove to the garden again. Today, I drove an hour each way to a play reading at a high school in Littleton, MA (the kids were great), then off to coach soccer practice in the drizzle.

Maybe we're just trying to make the most of having the car around while it's still here. Or else it's subliminal denial, or something. Tomorrow the rain is supposed to let up, so maybe I'll take my bike to my appointments instead of the car. This is a particularly busy time of year, and the car is a tool I use when I try to cram too much into too little time.

I wonder if this little pre-disappearance surge is how it works for everyone who tries this.