Count the Cars

Count the cars in the driveway, gentle reader. There are two. We have lived in this house for more than 20 years, and for 16 of those years this part of the homestead has been the scene of the "driveway shuffle," as there has been at least 3, and sometimes 4 full-time vehicles calling this their home berth. I honestly can't remember all of the vehicles that have resided here over these years, but I know the driveway has been home to at least 17 different variations of Oldsmobile, Chrysler, Pontiac, Plymouth, Chevrolet, Dodge, GMC, Nissan and Toyota. Some were bought brand-new, some were much older than the teenagers who drove them, having formerly belonged to a grandparent or even a great-grandparent. Some were big enough to seat a large family in comfort on long car trips, some were closer to a "go-cart" than a family car.

Anyway, the point is that now there are two, only two, as all of the children have moved out onto their own. This is a parable of our family, as well. Carol and I have been married for 34 years, and for 32 of them we have had children living with us (there are a lot of years between the youngest and oldest children). It was a lot of fun to be a family of 6 (or 3, or 4, or 5). It is still fun to be a family of 15 (more or less) and a household of 2. Life changes, but life is good.