Red Curry

Me and Red Curry

I'm pleased to introduce you to the newest member of our family: Red Curry! :) 

Sexy, Sporty and Safe!

On June 2nd I picked up my new car, a red Mazda 3 hatchback, that Dad purchased for me to drive.

Isn't it the cutest, sexiest, sportiest little car? :) 

It was just last year at the end of September, that I decided to try driving Mom's car. 

Life is changing so quickly I can't keep up. It's overwhelming. It's exhilarating. It's stressful. It's fantastic. 

This post is so much less about a car than it is about where I find myself this June--the month I will mark 18 years since I first experienced debilitating symptoms of chronic illness.

This post is about the symbolic nature of being in a place in which I need a car and feel well enough to do my own driving on a regular basis. 

It's about how I leave the house almost every day, sometimes more than once a day.

It's about how I now have the freedom to go where I what to go and Mom has the freedom to go where she wants to go without and conflict over sharing a car.

Before last year, I had not driven since 2001. In 2002, I had given up my first and only car, a sky blue 1989 Ford Tempo that my dad purchased for me at a farm auction when I was 16.

This time, when Dad realized that I needed a new car, we did a TON of research, lots of test-driving and lots of discussing. We wanted a new car with great safety features. I finally narrowed the decision down to either a Honda Civic or a Mazda 3. As you can see, the Mazda 3 won and I am over the moon happy with my decision.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE driving this car. I LOVE how fun it is to drive. I LOVE the red. I LOVE the freedom. I LOVE being able to drive and listen to music and sing along again. I LOVE everything that this car stands for in my new life.

Happy!

How in the heck do you thank someone for buying you a CAR? I really don't know how I will ever thank my dad. When I tried to, he said it was some of the best money he had ever spent. He told me how we had all waited for this day and dreamed that I would reach a point in my life again where I would be well enough to drive and experience life in so many new ways. He complimented me on my persistence on the road to recovery.

I told him the best money he had ever spent was on medical care, specifically that which I receive at Hopkins and at PT.

I feel a little self-conscious about having a new car, a little intimidated by something so shiny and new, and a lot spoiled. 

However, as I've told people about my dad's choice to buy me a new car and shared how excited I am to be driving and to have so much freedom, I have felt no judgment--only joy, happiness, and excitement for my new life and new freedom. 

Go Warriors! Go Red Curry!

The evening after I picked up the car, Mom and I headed to a nearby sports bar to watch the Warriors play Cleveland in the first game of the playoffs. This was another 'first' for me--chilling at a sports bar watching a game and drinking a beer!

The Warriors won!

Watching the Warriors in the Finals

I know the best gift I can give my dad in return is to enjoy my car to the fullest, to continue to heal as much as possible, and to continue to take joy in my new life. Because after all, that's what our family has dreamed about for 18 years--a healthy, happy Emily.

Blessings,

Emily