This is a story about a car - a 2006 Mazda 3 that we have owned for the past 5 years. But I am not just writing about a car. I am writing about my amazing husband and hope to illustrate one of the many reasons why I look up to him and I hope that one day my kids will follow his example.
The story begins clear back in 2004 when I fell in love with a boy who drove an old Toyota Corolla. It wasn't the type of car a girl would typically swoon over, but swoon is exactly what I did because whenever I saw that car parked out on the curb I knew that Scott wasn't far away. It was in that zippy Corolla that Scott and I shared our first conversations as we went on our first dates. Some girls might have looked down on someone driving such a little, old car, but for me it was one of things that made me know Scott was the kind of person I could marry one day. After all, I was driving a 1986 Toyota pickup myself. That car showed me he was a practical and humble college student who had his priorities in line. What's more is that Scott is actually quite a "car guy" who knows and appreciates all that a higher end car has to offer. He would talk about how he hoped to one day drive a nice truck, but was always realistic in knowing what he could afford in the here and now.
When we got engaged we pooled our limited savings and Scott researched and shopped around until he found a reliable car that we could afford to pay cash for since we didn't want a car payment while we were in school. I can promise you that our Mazda Millenia wasn't the car of his dreams, but he appreciated and took care of that car because he was proud that we had worked hard for it and it was our very own. After both of us had graduated college and we had our first child we decided it was time to invest in a family vehicle. Once again Scott went to work researching and shopping around until he found us an incredible deal on the car of my dreams (I'm not a car person so my dreams are much simpler than some). We have driven our Sequoia for nearly 9 years and it will likely be parked in our garage for at least a few more years. In the years following our Sequoia purchase our financial situation allowed Scott to keep his eye open for good deals on cars and through a couple of car purchases and sales for a gain in value Scott landed himself in his beloved truck. For the next year and a half Scott realized that owning a truck was just as awesome as he dreamed it would be. It was both a functional and fun car. I have to admit that even with me not being a car person AT ALL, I grew to appreciate the awesomeness of the truck. Why do I tell you all of this background? So that when I tell you the next part of the story you can understand what a sacrifice it really was.
In March of 2012, Scott was doing well in his job at NuSkin and was highly favored for a Director position that was opening up soon and I was in the final weeks of maternity leave and planning on only returning to work one day a week. In what can only be described as being blindsided by complete betrayal, Scott unexpectedly lost his job. (For the record several of the people involved in this decision have since contacted Scott to apologize and tell Scott that they were manipulated and didn't understand what was truly going on and this never should have happened to him). In the following days we both felt that this was the perfect opportunity for Scott to go back to school to get his MBA, something we had been considering for several years and now seemed as good a time as ever. This meant that I would be returning to work full time to support our family. As soon as that decision was made Scott had made another decision, he was going to sell his beloved truck. He knew as much as he loved it that it was a luxury, not a necessity, and that the money we had invested in it was needed elsewhere at that time. He sold his truck for a considerable profit over what we paid for it. He then downsized to an affordable, used, gold Mazda 3 that was much for practical for a graduate student and used the remaining money to pay off our Sequoia and pay for his first semester's tuition. Not having a car payment for either of our cars allowed me to work part time instead of full time and was such a blessing for our family through all of the ups and downs the next few years held for us.
For the next 5 years Scott drove "The Mazda", as we all referred to it. I know it wasn't his favorite car, but I never heard a single complaint out of him. He drove it to and from Nebraska for his summer internship, including literally driving through a tornado in it. He drove it daily on his commute to and from work in downtown Omaha. He even drove it all winter long (a midwest winter none-the-less) without a working heater, can you say Brrrrrrr? In the last six months as the Mazda has approached 100,000 miles, problems have been popping up here and there and we decided it was time to get a new car. As always, Scott has been on the lookout for a good deal within our price range. So when an older (2007) Infinity FX35 in great condition with only 40,000 miles popped up I encouraged Scott to go for it. Even with a car that he loves as a possibility in front of him, Scott was very thoughtful about whether this was too frivolous of a purchase, and whether he could find an even more affordable option elsewhere. There were so many reasons why it was a good choice, like the fact that he would be finally be able to fit his new bike in his own car to go biking instead of always having to arrange to take the Sequoia. But the thing that finally made him decide to get it was the fact that it has all wheel drive which will make it safer for me when I'm driving it home from work in the early mornings before the roads are plowed. I love seeing Scott so excited and happy about the car he is driving. In a time when the majority of our generation has a skewed perception of what are necessities and what are luxuries, I am so grateful to be married to such a practical and hard working man who lives within his means and avoids unnecessary debt. Again, I know this had been quite the ramble, but I really wanted to write this all down in hopes that one day our children will look to their father as an example as they too make responsible decisions for their families. And if you see a good looking guy cruising around in this car, give him a wave!
