#1 reason we need a truck

Many have heard this story (or versions of it).   When I was young I had many requirements for my future eternal companion.  I will share two (albeit not necessarily essential, but requirements nonetheless)- doctor and truck owner.  When Jim and I first started dating he was driving around a Toyota Tacoma AND he was majoring in pre-med.  Needless to say, things were looking pretty good.  We got engaged. 

A few months later, he took the MCAT, then he shadowed a doctor for a couple of weeks.  After following the doctor around and about two weeks before we were to get married he told me that he didn't want to be a doctor and he was going to be a teacher.  Now don't get me wrong, I love teachers, both of Jim's parents are teachers.  Jim is a natural teacher; he tutored math and science all through college.  Also I have thought about getting my teaching certificate as well.  However, as a 19-year-old I just went from a doctor's salary to a teacher's salary, but I was good with that.  I knew we could make it work...besides at that point any type of salary looked good considering we had NONE.

We got married.  We were happy.  Then the realization hit us that we really didn't have any money, in particular we didn't have enough money to put gas in that truck as often as it needed gas.  So we talked to Jim's parents and since they were the ones who actually bought the truck for Jim, we gave it back and they gave us the Geo Metro Jim drove around in high school. 

So now here I am barely married to this guy who no longer owns a truck and is no longer going to be a doctor...poor me, right?  NOT!!!  I am so glad Jim is not a doctor.  Again, I love doctors, I really do, but they have to go to school for FOREVER and most of them have A LOT of debt from school loans AND most of them work very long hours and Jim would have been miserable, I would have been miserable.  The only reason I felt bad about the truck is because I knew how much Jim loves having a truck.  Besides it is much easier to park a Geo Metro.

To help us feel better every year since January 1998, Jim and I write down 1-year goals, 5-year goals and 10-year goals.  Every year the truck makes it on one of the lists (usually the 5-year list).   

Okay, so where is this story going -- JIM FINALLY GOT A TRUCK! 

Jim's Toyota Camry had over 149,000 miles on it.  The nice thing about it was that it was paid off, but every couple of months we were having to get something fixed.  Jim is a logical guy.  If something doesn't make sense he isn't going to do it.  The only way he was going to get a truck was if he NEEDED one.  With the Christmas season quickly approaching one thing helped push him over the edge - the Annual Chirstmas Tree Hunt.  

Usually we bum rides with family and friends and then someone else brings our tree home for us.  But not this year the #1 reason we need a truck is...

FOR THE CHRISTMAS TREE HUNT!!!

So we loaded...

Sarah

 Sammy

Tommy

Austin

And even our dog Rusty into the truck. 

Yep, we made sure to get a truck that the whole family could fit in.

Jim's lucky streak didn't end, not only is he the proud owner of a truck, he found a Christmas tree.

The whole family!

Funny story:  Dan and Kodi actually cut down this tree - the PERFECT tree.  We had already loaded our tree into the truck, but I wanted a picture so we used their tree. 

Sarah is happy.

And here is EVERYONE!!! In all, we left with 9 trees.  And rather than having the Dan/Kodi (friends/neighbors) or Scott (Jim's bro) bring home our Christmas tree, we brought home our own for the first time ever!  In fact, we even brought home a tree for Scott because he wasn't able to make it up there this year.