Love at 56mph
We all know showing love to someone sometimes involves sacrifice.
Sometimes it looks like driving 56 mph on the freeway to conserve energy for the “perfect” driving score your husband currently has on the tank of gas in the car.
Yes, it’s the efficient driving way to say “I love you.” I knew I would be cutting it close with a round-trip just at the car’s charge capacity (we drive a Chevy Volt), and my driving efficiency thus far has never proved to top the car’s performance (Hey, I’m a California girl through and through, I go fast). But I tried. I really did. While driving on the freeway I hung at 56 mph, sometimes 59, and a few times 62 *gasp* and it took lots of energy out of me to try to hold pace. Cars sped past me as I gently gliding along in the slow lane. A few tailgated me until they got frustrated enough to leap frog. I felt like a menace to society, tried to justify with a “hey, what’s the rush” anti-road rage, and breathed relief when I made it to the streets where I blended in better. I had 29 miles left when I arrived at my destination. It worked!
Unfortunately, a little wrong turn and a little less concentration on my task on the drive home (I called a friend), and I ran out of charge and watched the car switch to burning gas about two miles from home. 🙁 Oops.
My honey has been going the extra mile for me lately. He did the take-the-kids-for-the-evening way to say “I love you” a few days ago on a particularly tough mothering day for me. I escaped to “Europe” (our nickname for a little European Cafe down the road) where I sat on the patio under an umbrella in the sunset, sipped the free wine that came with my bistro burger while flipping through a new book. My deep dark funk disappeared in like 15 minutes flat. Then yesterday, I came home from a Sprouts grocery haul to find the dinner-just-about-done way to say “I love you” – involving stuffed mushrooms, sparkling cider, candles, and cake eaten on fine china.
We speak each other’s language. 8 years of marriage has its benefits.
So, how do you say “I love you” to your loves?
*BTW, we love the Volt. We’ve had it for 18 months, have used 23 gallons of gas and have driven almost 12, 800 miles.
(but it does make us want to drive like grannies on the freeway)
This made me laugh so hard. About a week ago we passed you guys on the 101 going to church and I laughed and told Brett they must be driving so slow because they are in a Volt. ha ha ha I forgot to tell you this when I saw you that day.
I know, seriously. How embarrassing! No wonder we are always late! It’s funny, though, the Volt is actually super powerful and can be fun to drive…but it’s also like a game to maximize the mileage at the most efficient [slow] speeds.