It all started with my phone. My 1996 Nokia flip phone broke and now the battery is held in with sticky tape. The same day, Justin’s phone broke.
Not that my heart is broken, but everything is breaking down! Late on Friday, after a trip to the in-laws to drop off some moving boxes, we noticed the car was playing up… After trying to put some coolant in the engine, which promptly bubbled like a witch’s brew, the engine went really hot and started smoking. We took the car to the mechanic first thing on Saturday. That afternoon we got a call where the mechanic rattled off everything wrong with the car. “What’s optional to fix?” asked Justin. “Nothing,” said the mechanic. The cost totalled over $1000. We decided it was time to send the “Wizzard” to car heaven. On monday Justin sold the car to the wreckers for $150. That car was the very definition of a bomb, but we’re still sorry to see it go.
We’ve both been under the weather as well, our bodies are breaking down with the stress of moving house and ticking all the boxes of trip preparation. Canceling electricity bills, redirecting mail and being put on hold have taken their toll on our bodies. Justin and I have both been off work with sickness moping around the house.
Yesterday when I was off work sick I went out to get some lunch, paid $9 for a panini, waited for them to toast it and then promptly dropped it all over the pavement. After that disaster I bumped into Justin’s acoustic guitar and watched as it fell in slow motion on the kitchen floor. The guitar neck broke in two. Thankfully Justin wasn’t mad, he’d wanted to get a new one anyway.
I think these things are just signs we’re meant to go. The world is pushing us out the door with a big boot. Thankfully we can both laugh about these things; objects are just that, they pass away. We’ve slowly realised we don’t need half the things we own; six big bags for Vinnies testify to that in the loungeroom. There’s more in the boxes, unwanted books. We’ve been talking about becoming digital minimalists for a little while, where we have our lives on hard drives and kindles and ithingys. The brokenness of all our belongings is just giving us a little push in that direction.
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