For Sale, Make Offer

My husband drives, what I would classify as the biggest eyesore known to the HOA.

The HOA is the Home Owner's Association that governs what we can or cannot do with our house being that it's part of a nice neighborhood. For example, we cannot leave our garbage can out on the curb longer than 13 minutes after we get home from work on trash day. My daughters cannot make chalk drawings on the sidewalk, as these are apparently offensive to passers-by who are interested in....I dunno- sidewalk cleanlieness. And there are other useless rules that are governed by this particularly annoying association who have nothing better to do than snoop through your backyard, complaining of unmowed grass or dead Christmas trees that still have not yet been brought out to the curb by February! (FOR CRYING OUT LOUD....it's not hurting anyone!!)

But, in this one area- we do agree, my husband's truck is just plain unsightly. However, they have not come up with any rule yet on why we have to get rid of it. (sigh)

It wouldn't be such a problem if I could just let him keep what is his and I keep what is mine. But sometimes there is a need for me to drive his horrible beast while giving up my precious mom mobile to him. I hate this for two reasons. One- he "yuckies up" my car with the smell of cigarette smoke and empty bottles of Dr. Pepper that roll around just out of reach of your hand while driving. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to be reaching around on the floor for an empty bottle, while trying to put on makeup?! It's almost impossible!!
And TWO- I have to drive his scary truck that has no inside paneling on the doors, the aforementioned Dr. Pepper bottles, no radio and to start the thing, one must reach down and grab a handful of wires under the steering column, then turn the ignition (this is scary for me, reminiscent of when you play the game Operation and someone next to you yells ZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!). Not to mention that it's just embarrassing to be SEEN in it.

Case in point...

Yesterday I took Jada to school in the truck. Josh was almost out of gas, so to "save money" he requested that I drive the shorter distance in it.
As Jada and I sat in the monster truck I realized I'd left my glasses inside and I ran back in to get them while she waited in the running truck. When I came back out, she had hunched down in the seat.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
She told me that a classmate rode by on her bike, saw Jada in the passenger side of the truck and with a worried look on her face glanced at the truck, then at the house, and back at the truck. She then edged a little closer, looked at Jada through the smeary non-working windows and finally mouthed the words "ARE YOU O-K?"

Apparently, seeing a child sitting in a big ugly truck such as this...meant a kidnapper had gotten ahold of her. Jada was mortified.

I was just happy that she knew kids nice enough to care for her safety.